Beginings
by memyselfisesshy93
Summary: Itasuske is an abandoned experiment made by the snake Sanin, Orochimaru. Living most of his life on his own, Itasuske trains himself. What lies ahead for this young Shinobi?
1. Same Old Days

Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING... except Nakita. The other stuff belongs to other people... I'm just a tool XD the real author is Alan and he made Itasuske.

Itasuske

Age: 19

Looks: Has Itachi's build except no lines and his hair is collar length or maybe a little longer.

Background: Itasuske is a experiment made by Orochimaru and was abandoned. Over the years Itasuske trained himself and travels day after day with no where to go.

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He woke in the middle of the night. The same dream again. The pale man, laughing at his existence. He did not know why his "father" would do this, but he felt for certain that it was not to become a reality. Itasuske had wondered why he was created, why had he been chosen? He did not know all the answers, but he knew from the moment he was "born", this would be his mission.

The next day. Same as any other day. Same blasted sun beating down on him. Same birds chirping in the bushes. It felt, to a outsider, that it would be a normal day, but Itasuske knew better. In his gut, he knew today was going to be different. Though he didn't keep much on him, Itasuske did keep the basics on him. His clothes, which were a little big, but it still fit fine. His kunai, which he had found the day after his "father" had left him, which he swore that he would return, one way or another. Finally, his towel. No one knows why Itasuske always keeps a towel on his person.

He got up, dusted himself off, and started walking. Countless miles he had walked from the day he was abandoned, and he knew countless more lie ahead of him. While he was walking, he spotted a waterfall not to far from the road. So, being a practical person, he washed his clothes and himself in the waterfall. While doing this, though, he got the feeling that he was being watched. Carefully getting out and getting dressed, he quickly looked in the general direction of the feeling. He didn't see any person, but he did notice a large gathering of crows off in the distance.

"If nothing else, I could get something to eat tonight." he thought to himself. But when he got there, all the crows had flown away, and he found nothing but bird droppings. Damn, he cursed to himself. Then, a crow landed on his shoulder. He tried to catch it, but every time he even thought to reach for the bird, it just flew to the other shoulder. "Fine, you filthy bird, have it your way." He kept going along the road, finding nothing else exciting until he happened across a small inn/farm.

As he approached the farm, he spotted three people inside. Most likely the farm owner and his family. So he went inside. Immediately the innkeeper noticed the child with a crow on his shoulder.

"Good afternoon, are you lost, little boy?" "Little? By your reckoning, I look about 15 or 16, do I not?" The innkeeper was startled by the young man's response. "Why, yes, you do look about 16, what can I do for you? Are you lost?" The innkeeper was like the Kind, old Uncle that every kid wanted. He was also quite large. "Lost? I have been by myself for so long, I feel like I can no longer become lost." Again, a startling glimpse of Itasuske's inner personality left the innkeeper off balance. "Well, I can see you have no money, but I guess you can stay here for one night if you wish. Business is slow this time of year, anyway. Why do you have a crow on your shoulder?" Itasuske looked straight at the innkeeper, "Because I can't get it off." The innkeeper, upon looking at Itasuske's eyes, did a double take. One eye was black, while the other was gray. "So, do you want a room?" the innkeeper said awkwardly. "Yes, that would be most kind of you." Itasuske said pleasantly. "Ok, let me show you to your room then."

His room was just that, a room. It had a bed, running water, and a small table on which he could make notes. As Itasuske set himself down on his bed, the crow on his shoulder left and perched himself on the windowsill.

"Are you on me for a reason?" Itasuske thought he was stupid, talking to a bird with a brain the size of a peanut. The bird seemed to say, "Yep". That woke Itasuske up. "You can talk?" "No" The bird squawked. "Then you answer yes/no questions?" "Yep" Incredible! A pinhead bird that could answer questions! Itasuske then smelled soup that smelled as tasteful as anything he could imagine. He bolted downstairs, and found a large pot of something. He didn't even ask. He dug into that soup and before he knew what he was doing, had consumed the whole thing.

The innkeeper smiled, he liked this young man. As he was finishing the cleaning, he said, "What is your name, young man?"

Itasuske looked up, "Me? Itasuske." As he said the name, the innkeeper froze. THAT was the reason for the two-tone eyes. He was that THING that Orochimaru had created. The innkeeper then turned around, not so jolly anymore. "If I could please ask you to leave."

Itasuske looked confused. "But why?"

The innkeeper looked genuinely sad. "I am sorry, but I can't have you here, for it is not safe for my family. Now, please, leave." Itasuske had heard this one before. Always the same, they look at you funny, then they ask you to leave. So he got his stuff, and he left the cottage the same as he had come. But this time, something different did happen. The innkeeper, before he had left, put some sticks of non-perishable meat in his towel. Silently, Itasuske thanked the innkeeper, and traveled a little ways to a sheltered spot, then laid down and went to bed. The crow was watching the whole time.

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That damned bird woke him when morning came. If the bird was smart enough for faux speak, then shouldn't it be smart enough to not wake him? He knew that he had to get up, though. Another day, another trudge through this life. He got up and dusted himself off, then set out on the road again. On the way through him getting ready, though, he still had the feeling that someone was watching. When he looked in the direction, though, all he could see were the same crows as before. Oh well, so much for someone stalking him.

He was tired from walking and finding nothing. As he passed on the road, people did pass by, but they all threw him strange and dirty looks. He did not know why they were doing this to him, what had he done? He went to sit and take a load off, when a man in a strange hat passed.

"Are you Itasuske?" the man asked. This traveler, by the looks of him, was too well armed to be a simple person. "What if I am?" he looked straight into the man's eyes. "You ARE him!" As quickly as he had said this, a sword had flashed and was about to cut off Itasuske's head. Itasuske himself could only think of one thing as the sword came rushing to him. "Why me?" The sword was about to make contact with Itasuske's neck, but fate had a different plan for Itasuske.

Not even thinking, Itasuske ducked under the man's sword, and quickly delivered a crushing blow to the man's midsection. The man doubled over, winded by the boy's surprise attack. But it was not enough to knock him out. The man took off his travelers' clothing to reveal a samurai type of clothing. "I have been sent to kill you, young Itasuske, so prepare yourself."

The man came rushing at Itasuske, knowing that the hit that the boy had landed was a fluke. To Itasuske, though, the world seemed different. It seemed to him that he could see everything, even inside the man who was trying to kill him. Itasuske saw the oncoming man, and then saw his beating heart. He then aimed his palm right at the man's heart. Not knowing that Itasuske had the Byakugan, he simply thought the kid was holding a hand up in defense. The assassin the dropped to the floor, his heart stopped. Itasuske didn't even know what he had done, but saw the man slump over, no longer breathing.

Overwhelmed by what he had just done, Itasuske ran. He just kept running and running. Trying to out run the fact that he had just killed a person. He knew he was only defending himself, but he had no control over what had just happened. That was what scared him the most. Then, when he was exhausted from all the running and thinking he had done, he got into a shaded corner, trying not to think about what had happened. The crow had never left his side. He went to sleep for a little, until things settled down in his head.

He awoke when he thought he had just heard something. He got up, and looked both left and right, finding nothing. Then, a girl about his age popped up right in front of his face. "Hi!" she said as he reeled in surprise. "Who in the world are you? Where did you came from? Why are you here? What do you want?" Itasuske said this in about 2 seconds.

"Dude, chill. I'm not here to hurt you!" This girl, though he had never met her, seemed familiar. She had pale skin, and eyes like a reptile. "Sorry, I just am a little jumpy. My day has not been a good one." "Ooh, poor whittle baby need a bwanket? Say, what is up with your eyes?" She seemed good enough, even though that last comment set him in a weird mood. "My eyes? I don't know, what is up with yours?" She climbed the nearest tree. "I was born with them, and it freaks people out. Do yours?" "Yeah, every time a person looks at my eyes, the either run away or kick me out of wherever I'm staying at that point." Wow, a person who finally understood his dilemma! Itasuske was liking this girl more and more each passing second. "Say, what are you doing all the way out here? Don't you have your own home?" The girl smiled, something that no other person had done to him, ever. "No, well yes, I do have a home. What about you? You have a place to go to?" Itasuske looked down, remembering what his old home was like. "Not a good place, huh?" "You can read my mind?" Itasuske looked stunned, no one had done that before! She looked at him in a semi-curious way. "Sometimes." "Well, yeah, my place to stay is not good, and very far away." She was still smiling, something he immensely enjoyed. "That's ok, I live by myself, so you can come with me!" After that, she started running in a northern direction. He followed.

As they approached the small cottage, the girl paused. "My name is Nakita, what is yours?" Itasuske paused. Every time he had mentioned his name, people started acting differently. "My name is...Itasuske." After saying that, he braced himself for the worst. "Itasuske, huh? Nice name. Ok, I do have two rooms. I get my bedroom, but you get the study room. Is that good for you?" Good, he thought, good? This was great! Nothing could be better. "Yes, that will be excellent!" Itasuske went into the house, and found a place to sleep. Now he knew what hospitality was, and he knew what friendship was, He slept the best he had done in weeks.


	2. Strange Soups and Combos

Disclaimer: Again, I made Nakita... Alan made Itasuske... other people made other people... We came up with plot.

Itasuske woke to the smell of something good. He quickly got dressed and went to the dining area.

"Morning, lazy bum." Nakita said. "What's that? It smells really good!" His mouth was watering just at the smell of it. "Try it." Nakita handed him a bowel of some sort of soup. He dug into it, eating the contents of the bowel in a matter of seconds. "Just as good as it smelled, what was it?"

"Snake stew." Nakita had a small smile on her lips. "WHA?!?!? YOU FED ME SNAKE?" Itasuske suddenly felt as though he could still feel the snakes in his stomach. "Yep, it's my specialty." She seemed like she was quite enjoying this. "Well…. I guess it did taste good, you have more?" Itasuske was quick on recovering, having eaten only one thing weirder in his life. "Usually people throw up when they hear what it is, I guess you are special."

The morning was uneventful. Itasuske trained and kept trying to get the same feeling as yesterday. What was that? Did it come out only when his life was in danger? Then he focused, only thinking about that feeling. He noticed his chakra focusing on his eye. He got it. He let the chakra explode in that area, and he knew he had got it right. He could see all around him, and not just in the field. He could see all the way to the cottage, which was a good mile away. He was looking through out the cottage, and noticed he could hone into specific targets. This certainly was a interesting ability. He shut off his eye, which he had learned was called the Byakugan from lore he had heard.

He went into the cottage, being a little tired from the experimentation of his eye. He went into his sleeping area, and found a book lying there. He opened it, but found all the pages blank, except one, which read "Meet me in the back." He sighed, did everyone like toying with him? Oh well, might as well. He went outside to find Nakita standing opposite him.

"Look, I know you're different, I can see it in your eyes and in your posture. So, I want to have a little sparing to assess your abilities." With that, she threw several shuriken in his direction. Quickly dodging them, Itasuske took out is kunai, and started looking for a slip up. Nakita, not impressed, took out her own kunai, and rushed toward him. He got himself prepared, but then heard "do you think you can beat me?" in his head. This threw him off balance, and was not prepared for the strike on his arms. Having been cut, Itasuske quickly took several steps back. "What in the world was that?!?" he exclaimed.

"You shouldn't become distracted when you have a enemy approaching you. Ninja basics 101." Nakita smiled that small smile of hers, only this time it was a little unnerving. "Ok, give me a second chance. I will not be distracted this time." Itasuske had a little something planned for her this time. Nakita rushed again, bringing her kunai to bear. Then 3 kunai came out of nowhere and were heading for Itasuske. Clever, he thought, but not enough. He jumped, dodging the kunai, and landed his feet on a nearby tree, which he propelled himself off of and rushed headlong at Nakita. Surprised at Itasuske's ingenuity, she just stood there. When Itasuske buried his Kunai into her arm, all he heard was poof and knew he was in for it. Nakita was right below him, looking up at the flying ninja. All she had to do was reach up her arm, grab Itasuske, and swing him downward. He landed on the ground with a thud , but did manage to land a firm kick to the chin with his free foot.

She let him go, and with a satisfied grin, said "ouch, nice kick. Where did you learn that from?" "I didn't, it's just become a reflex from all the years I've been on the road." Itasuske got up and dusted himself off. "Nice substitution, by the way." She smiled, stretched, and said, "Let's grab some lunch."

After lunch, Itasuske heard a knock at the door. "I'll get it." Nakita said. While he was cleaning the table, Itasuske heard shouting come from the doorway. He went to investigate, and saw Nakita and a man with glasses and white hair with a sound headband arguing.

"No, Kabuto, I don't want to go back!" "Well, I have been told to bring you back at any cost. So either come quietly, or I will be forced to bring you back with force. Itasuske came in. "Hey, buddy, she can do what she wants!"

"Foolish boy, you know not…." The man had seen Itasuske's eyes, and looked like he had seen a ghost. "I know not what? That you are a perv who wants to take a 16-year-old by force? You must be completely deranged if you think she would come quietly!" "Boy, you are asking for it!" the man, apparently named Kabuto, said. Kabuto, that name rang a bell, somehow. Then he remembered. Kabuto, the man who kicked him when his training had already exhausted him. Kabuto, the lapdog of his father. Kabuto, the ignoramus who would never leave him alone. Kabuto, Kabuto, Kabuto. It was all he could think of. Then he snapped back into reality, and saw him standing there, ripe for the beating of his life. But before he could land one blow, Kabuto had already hit him in the solo plexus, knocking the wind out of him. Kabuto then did the same to Nakita in the same instant, and collected her body.

He was about to leave, when Itasuske cried out, "KABUTO! WE HAVE A SCORE TO SETTLE!" Kabuto looked back, dropped Nakita on the ground carefully, and turned to Itasuske. "Ok, bring it, you little punk." Itasuske rushed toward him and was about to strike, when he noticed Kabuto making hand signs. He quickly got out of range, just as Kabuto said "Urani Temple (Feather Illusion) Jutsu!" Itasuske knew that Nakita would be out for awhile, but he could still fight. He rushed at Kabuto again, and this time made contact. Itasuske had hit Kabuto's leg with his kunai. Kabuto, sensing a opening, kicked Itasuske up into the air with his other leg. "Chakra Scalpel Jutsu!" and hit Itasuske in is midsection and his legs. "That should take care of you. Now I must leave." Kabuto collected Nakita, and started walking away.

Itasuske stared at Kabuto with a intense rage. Why wasn't he strong enough to even land a critical blow on that punk Kabuto? Then, that rage turned to focus, as he made the damaged chakra points on his body closed so that other ones could take their place. He got up again, and noticed something different, again. Everything seemed a bit slower, and he could tell what was going to happen before it did.

"KABUTO!" Itasuske yelled again. Kabuto looked back, flabbergasted that the boy could even stand, and to top it off, the boy had his Sharingan activated! "Looks like I underestimated him. A mistake I do not intend to make twice." Kabuto then rushed in to Itasuske, knowing what the boy would do in response, or so he thought.

He thought wrong.

Itasuske then switched his eyes over and saw Kabuto's chakra points. Dodging Kabuto's strikes, he quickly diminished Kabuto's chakra until he had none left. Itasuske then kicked Kabuto in the midsection, knocking the wind out of him. "Tell your master that he cannot have Nakita. Not now, not ever." Itasuske collected Nakita and went back to the cottage.

"Damn, that boy has developed himself well. I must tell Lord Orochimaru." With that, and much pain, he got up and went as fast as he could to Orochimaru.

As Nakita woke up. She smelled something good. She went into the eating area and said "What ya got cooking?" All Itasuske did was hand her a bowel. She looked at him slyly, "What is it?" "If it is good, who cares?" Itasuske said. She ate it, carefully, trying to discern what it was. She finished, and said "Ok, I'm stumped. It does taste good, but what in the world is it?" Itasuske had a small smile on his face. "Slug and Toad soup. I learned it from a kind lady whom I met on the road." Nakita paused, then exclaimed "SLUG AND TOAD?!?!?!? WHO IN THE WORLD COMBINES THOSE THINGS TO MAKE A SOUP?"


	3. New Lives

Disclaimer: again... not mine... only Nakita... O and Kaori belongs to Danielle, who is also a very good friend of mine.

Three months had passed by so fast, he thought to himself. Three months since he had kicked Kabuto's rear end. They had moved out of the cottage, for obvious reasons. Though that damned bird kept with them, no matter where they went. Nakita had also decided that she was going to lead them to another spot she thought would be safe. But before that, something else caught her attention.

"Itasuske, you need new clothes. The one outfit you have now is too small and smells vaguely like salt water."

Itasuske looked at her. "Your not gonna..." "Yep, we're going clothes shopping." Itasuske thought of a quick excuse. "But we have no money!" "So we can find jobs" Nakita said coolly.

Come hell or high water, Nakita was going to get him to wear something different. She used had a idea. She quickly made a very cute chibi face. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease? " "Can't….resist…..chibi stare……. Ok." Nakita returned to normal. "Yay!"

They reached a town that looked promising a day later. They went into town, and right away they found a inn that had a help wanted poster outside of it. They went inside, and saw that no one was in there besides them. A young man stepped out, about Itasuske's age, maybe a year younger. Itasuske then noticed the young man's eyes. Completely gray. A Hyuuga, running a inn? H considered to himself stranger things have happened.

"We are here to have you put away that sign, sir." Nakita said. The owner then pointed to Itasuske and had him stand in the dojo to moderate the battles and to teach when necessary. He appointed Nakita to be the Hostess. Itasuske did not like his job, but if it made Nakita happy, he would bear it. Nakita did not enjoy her job either, but then, she knew the pay was good so she stuck with it. The one thing that as not answered, Itasuske asked for the manager for his name. "Noah, that is all you need to hear" and Noah walked off.

A woman was passing through, and decided she was going to visit an old friend. She went into Noah's inn and was surprised to find Nakita there. The woman ran up to her and gave Nakita a big hug. "So, Kaori, still the Hokage in training I see" "Yep, but you wouldn't believe how boring it is, having Naruto as a teacher and all." She even sounded bored. "Tell ya what, how about we have a quick sparring match, to see how far we have both come since we last met?" Nakita had a little smile on her face. "Ok, that sounds fun!" Kaori liked the idea of testing her abilities.

They went to the dojo, and when Kaori opened the door, she got a pleasant surprise. Itasuske stood there, waiting to judicature the match. She was about to run up to him, but Nakita put a hand on her shoulder. "He doesn't know who you are. Don't do anything that would confuse him." Kaori held back. He was one of her best friends though. He seemed a lot younger than she remembered. "How old is he?" "About our age. I know it is a shock, but we met about 3 months ago." "Wow, a young Itasuske, this is certainly interesting."

They both walked through the doorway, prompting Itasuske to stand in the Judicature spot. He recognized Nakita, and had a strange sense he knew the other woman as well. "Names and titles, if you have them," he addressed both of them. "Nakita, Snakebane" "Kaori, future Hokage." Itasuske was confused. Snakebane, future Hokage? These were strange titles. "Stipulations?" "Taijutsu only?" Nakita offered. "This place is too small to have a full fledged battle." "And cannot go outside of the boundary." Kaori added, pointing to the red line at the outside of the mat. "Fine, begin."

The two konouchi started trading blows, each one seeming to be the same after the other had hit the other. "You have improved since we last met," Nakita said. "Well, I knew training with Gai-sensei wasn't going to be a waste." She demonstrated her training by kicking Nakita in the chin, making her fly. Itasuske jumped in. "Lotus is strictly forbidden in this dojo." Nakita landed feet first. "Not bad, I have to give you props for that." "Party pooper." Kaori said to Itasuske. "Just doing my job, Kaori" "Looks like I am outside of the boundary. You win, Kaori." Nakita had landed beyond the boundary . "That was fun," Kaori said. "We should do it again sometime." Nakita finished for her.

After a week, they both had enough money to get Itasuske some new clothes. They went to the nearest robe maker.

"We want a custom job." Itasuske said. The storeowner smiled, thinking about the money he was going to make. "What will it be then? And for who?" Nakita stepped in. "I know how expensive you think you can make it. Don't." The dangerous look in Nakita's eyes made the man completely forget about his greed. "Wha-what will it be?" "That's better." Nakita had that smile on her face.

They fitted Itasuske in a robe of all black, that suited his physique. He was happy with everything, but he needed one thing to make it his. He put a white rose on the back of his robe.

"Why a rose? That doesn't seem very intimidating," Nakita was not impressed with his choice of sign. "Because the white rose is a sign of rebirth. And since I am no longer going to be used as a killing machine, I feel like I have been born again." They paid the clothes dealer, then went outside.

"You know, that was a good choice of a sign. I am happy for it." Nakita went up to Itasuske. "I think rebirth is a blessing you get once in a lifetime." She was right in his face. He decided to go for it. He kissed her. After a few seconds, Nakita responded. She held it for a few seconds, then broke away. She then hammered him on the head. "Never do that in public again!" "Yes ma'am" he said, clutching his head.

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Itasuske was bored. Nothing had happened in the dojo since Nakita and Kaori had done a sparing match. That was a good week gone by. It was nice to have a roof over his head, and food to eat, but it was boring sitting on his hands and waiting for something good to happen. Was it his lot in life to be bored out of his mind? The only thing that brought excitement in his life these days was Nakita, whenever she wanted to stop by. They were still going good, but it seemed like she had all the business and he was left in the cold. Oh well, if he was going to sit on his hands, he might as well train for the next time he would need to battle. He wanted to hone his Byakugan skills, but wanted to leave the Noah alone for the moment. He activated his Byakugan, observing around the inn.

Empty room, the bartender, customers, yadda yadda. He decided to look in their room. He saw his old clothes, his kunai, and his sandals. He noticed one thing in particular. His towel was missing. He searched high and low with his Byakugan for that towel, but he could not find it. He had one more place to look, but he would do that personally. He went into their bathroom, and there it was, safe and sound. He then was walking out the door, when he heard a tap, tap, tap. He turned around, only to face a very pissed off Nakita wrapped in the shower curtain.

The next morning Itasuske was still nursing all the bruises in his face and abdomen. Whoever was her teacher, sure taught her how to punch. She came in the room with a cheery "Good morning!" Itasuske knew if he said what he wanted to, he would get hit even more. A muted "Morning" was all he could get out of his swollen mouth. She kissed him on the forehead and said, "Gotta go, wish me luck!" "Good luck!" He called back to her. He should get going as well, if he wanted to get paid this week. He went to the dojo, fully healed, and saw a man standing there.

"Hello, good sir, how may I help you?" "Is it I who needs helping, young one, or is it you?" The man turned around. He looked around 1,000 years old. "Who are you?" Itasuske said. "I am the one to train you in the dragoon style of fighting." "Dragoon? Don't you mean Dragon?" Itasuske had heard of Dragon style. It was supposed to be fire based, and he was always good at handling fire. "No, Dragoon is a defense based fighting style. It is more about harmony and peace, much like what you need in your soul." "Hey, no offence, but no old man is going to tell me how to live my life!" Itasuske exclaimed. "Fine, I will not impart to you the wisdom of the Dragoon, but I will teach you the fighting style. That is acceptable for you, correct?"

They trained and taught for the rest of the afternoon. Even by cheating a little by using his Sharingan, it still seemed like it took forever to learn the techniques as well as the old man had told him to do.

"Now that I feel like my legacy has been passed, here." He gave Itasuske a scroll. He opened it up. "What is this?" Itasuske asked. "This is a list of all the Ninja who have been called into the service of Jugan, the Rising Star. Will you join us?" Itasuske looked it over. Only three other people had signed this scroll before he did, but they all were a different style of writing, prompting him to think that there was one disciple from every three generations.

"If I sign this, does that mean…" Itasuske began. "Yes, you will be able to summon Him on occasion. You will most likely be stuck with another servant of his though. Most likely a lesser dragon." "Fine," He bit his thumb so he could sign the scroll, "It is done." The scroll folded up by itself and attached itself onto Itasuske's leg. "Now, I need some rest. These old bones are not what they used to be."

Itasuske got in the room late, and when he turned on the light, Nakita was waiting with a paper fan in hand. "Where were you, Itasuske, stalking around so late at night?" she said in a sickly sweet voice. He tried his best to explain himself, which he could do because of the scroll on his leg. He pulled it out, and showed it to Nakita. "So, is this "Jugan" character your friend or something?" At least he tried. And to some extent, Nakita believed him. He only got one smack with the fan instead of the 100 she was going to give him.


	4. Family Reunion

Disclamer: GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEADS!!!! Nakita is Mine. Itasuske and story is Alan's. We both came up with plot ideas.

Training was hard. Itasuske did learn that the more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle, but this was ridiculous. It was Saturday for goodness' sake! Why, oh why had he paired up with this woman? Did she have no merciful bones in her body? He was considering all of these thoughts as he was forced by Nakita to do 300 thumb push-ups while trying to balance two 100-pound rocks on each foot. Why, oh why had he agreed to her training? He thought she was just joking and creating an excuse for them to be together!

"271...272...273...274"

"Faster, or else you will have horrible reaction time." Nakita was enjoying this, he thought to himself. She must have some perverse pleasure in seeing pain in others. Why else would he be forced to do this?

"289...290...291...292"

He could feel the stones loosing balance because his legs shook so much. "If you can't do this, it is 4 laps around the track" Even though that didn't seem like much, in the condition he was in, he probably couldn't do one.

"297...298...299...300!"

He stopped, carefully dropped his legs so that the stones would still be in balance, took off the stones, and carefully placed them on the ground. "Ok, time for a break" Nakita said. Finally, he thought. After all this morning, starting at 4:00 am, now it was noon. While he dragged himself over to the waterfall, Nakita calmly took out her lunch that they had bought at the store before they left. She had a sandwich, a bottle of lemonade, and a bag of Doritos. That seemed like a feast to Itasuske, who was only allowed a few celery sticks and a small glass of water.

"Why do you get all of that?" Itasuske said.

"Do I hear complaining?" Nakita asked rhetorically. "No" He said quickly. He had learned that if one complained during Nakita's Death Training, as he had come to call it in his head, training was doubled. He did not want that. "And don't call my special training anything but training, thank you." Nakita added. He kept his thoughts blank after that.

"I think that is enough for today," Nakita said after they finished their lunches. "Whatever you say." Itasuske was silently thanking whatever pinhead god inspired her to take a break today. She looked at the waterfall. "Did you know that a waterfall provides purification to the entire body of water that it supplies?"

Itasuske looked at her strangely. "Did you just make that up?"

She grinned, "Yeah, but does it really matter?" She looked at him. He looked back, "Perhaps not, but you had me going for a second." She laughed. She was still the only one she had heard laugh when he was around. It was a good feeling when he could say something that would make a person laugh.

She got in closer, and leaned her head on his shoulder. "What do you think you are going to do with your life?" She asked. "Stay wherever you are, protect you when you need it, and hopefully scrape by a living while I am at it." "Sounds like a plan to me." She leaned in for a kiss, but it seems that the pinhead gods had a different plan for the young couple.

Without warning, a kunai flew right in between the two. Itasuske looked first. There Kabuto was, again messing in things that were not his business.

"What do you want, you perv?" Itasuske said, "Didn't get your ass kicked hard enough last time?"

"I am here to send a message from my master, who is on his way," He said. "Nakita, you will come with us this time, you have no choice. Lord Orochimaru has spoken." With that, he disappeared to meet up with his master.

"Damn, Dad's coming? I didn't know it was that serious." Something clicked in Itasuske's head. Dad? He thought. So Nakita was the offspring of his creator. The one that his creator had said that he would replace. It did not matter to him, he loved her and that was it. He would still protect her from any danger that occurred. Plus this would give him the chance to use that new summoning that the old man had taught him!

Orochimaru arrived about ten minutes later. "Come, Nakita, you are no longer on that quest with those "friends" of yours, come back home. I need you for some tests that I want to run."

"You mean you want to use me to test out those jutsus that you develop!" Nakita fired back.

"Heh heh heh, I guess you have gotten a bit cynical while you have been away from me. I can fix that." Orochimaru said in a slightly threatening voice.

"I am living by myself, and nothing you can do can change that!" Nakita exclaimed. Itasuske was in behind waterfall, in case talking did not work.

"Oh, really, you think that you could stop me from taking you home?" Orochimaru said mockingly. "Surely your travels have not made you unwise to my power." He said dangerously.

"I have killed off a Taken, what is your greatest achievement? Almost taking down the leaf village?" She said acidly. "You will pay for your insolence!" He started rushing at her. Itasuske considered this the most opportune time to strike. He jumped out of the waterfall and took Orochimaru down. They both got up at the same time. "Oh, look, my other failed experiment shows his ugly two-toned face."

He recognized his creators' face, it was the same as before. "So, creator, how have you been since you abandoned me?" Itasuske asked in fake concern. "You know this reject is my creation, Nakita, why do you love him of all people? I could have given you a powerful ninja, like Sauske Uchiha!"

"Why would I want a whiny cry-baby like Sauske? The one I have chosen, which you call a reject, was more than a match for Kabuto!" She countered.

"Well, I do have to admit that I was not expecting to see young Itasuske so soon. It was a good surprise." Orochimaru admitted. "But I taught you both everything you know, so how can you possibly think you could defeat me?"

"Not everything." Itasuske said as he went into his Dragoon fighting stance. "What is this? I have not seen a fighting style like this…" Orochimaru looked concerned . Something was not right in his head. Orochimaru had seen this fighting style, but it had been when he was a Chunin going on Jonin. It was one of the fighting styles he had not once defeated. How did Itasuske, who wasn't even a Chunin, know this style? "Fine, I will call your bluff!"

Orochimaru rushed at Itasuske and threw several snakes in his direction. Itasuske dodged the snakes and did a roll to crush the snakes before they could regroup. He popped back up on the same fighting stance. While Orochimaru was rushing Itasuske, Nakita stuck out a foot and tripped her father.

"Oops….." She said with a small grin on her face. Kabuto came in and grabbed Nakita from behind, but all he grabbed was a log. "Look behind you!" Kabuto turned around, and got smacked in the face with a giant hammer that Nakita had hidden. As he went flying, she said "It goes high, it goes deep, it is……… outta here! The winning home run hit by Nakita! wOOt!"

"Grrrr, Kabuto, useless as usual." Orochimaru said. While all this happened, Itasuske had time to make all the hand signs. "Summoning earth style: Dragon Summoning Jutsu!" When the smoke cleared, a small oriental dragon popped out of the ground. "Sup, boss! Name's Goblin." anime disappointed face on Itasuske "You….. aren't Jugan……" "But I'm still a dragon! See!" spits small amount of fire "Go hide somewhere!" Itasuske exclaimed while Orochimaru rushed at him again.

"Will do!" goblin said, and went straight for Nakita's cleavage. But before he could get there, Goblin was smacked away by Nakita.

"Perv….. NEVER TRY THAT AGAIN!!!!!!!!" she yelled at Goblin. anime crying "Ok," Goblin said in a small voice.

Orochimaru kept attacking, and was subsequently beaten back by Itasuske, but Itasuske tired faster than Orochimaru, for Itasuske had just done training with Nakita and was tired. After about the 9th rush, Orochimaru stopped. "Not a bad fighting stance. I will make another check in later. This has wasted too much of my precious time. I will return at a different time." He disappeared and left them all alone.

"So, when do I get my reward?" Goblin said. Both of them looked at him as though if he said one more thing, they would kill him. "Release!" Itasuske said. Instantly Goblin was gone.

"What in the world did you try to do?" Nakita asked.

"Tried to summon a dragon, which I did, but to a lesser degree." Itasuske explained.

"Well, next time get a better one. That one you summoned was a perv." Nakita said. "Ok, got it." Itasuske looked ashamed, he didn't even think of the consequences of a botched summoning.

Nakita saw that Itasuske was about to get depressed. "Hey, don't get so down on yourself. You held off Orochimaru without using your Byakugan or Sharingan! What was that fighting style you used?"

"The technique is called Dragoon. It took me all day yesterday to learn it, remember? Supposedly every three generations has one person who can use it. I guess I am that one." "Well, now we don't have to worry about Dad for awhile." Nakita said.

"Yes, but for how long?" Itasuske wondered.


	5. How Long?

Declaimer: Nakita, you say it.

Nakita: She doesn't own anything!!! Only me...eww that sounded wrong.

Me: So? Alan owns Itasuske.

Nakita: Ewww... He's mine so back off peoples!!!

Me: lol

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Itasuske was in his room, contemplating his future. Since Orochimaru's appearance, Itasuske had a different set of goals. He needed to be prepared for anything and everything. He needed to protect his love. To do that, he thought, he must become familiar to every type of jutsu. He also needed to know how to remove poisons from the body, in case one of them got poisoned. He suddenly got a brain wave. Noah was from the Hyuuga clan, which meant that he would know Lady Hinata!

He got up quickly and ran to Noah, almost crashing into Nakita at the end of the hallway.

"Dude, why are you in such a rush?" Nakita asked.

"I…..need to see a person." he said lamely. "Oohhhh, who?" "Noah, I need to talk to him about my work schedule." It was a half-truth, but he didn't think that him seeing another woman would be a good thing in Nakita's book.

"Ok, but be sure to come back later this evening, I have something for you!" she said.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" he said as he went toward Noah's room. He went in.

"Yes, Itasuske, what can I do for you?" Noah said. Itasuske looked him straight in the eye and said, "I need to see Lady Hinata." Taken aback, Noah asked a reflexive question, "Why?" "Because I need to protect someone, and to do that, I need training for my Byakugan eye." There was no use lying to him, which was not Itasuske's style.

"What you ask could be considered heresy. You know that, right?" Noah asked. "Yes, I do. I will accept the consequences." Itasuske answered back. "Ok, then let us go."

The arrived at the Hyuuga family grounds about 30 minutes. "Let me do all the talking." Noah said. Itasuske nodded silently in agreement. Noah opened the door. And immediately before them, Hinata stood waiting for them. "Welcome, young Itasuske. You need training, yes?"

They both were speechless. Since Noah was from the Cadet branch, he had not gotten to see Lady Hinata for personal training. How did this outsider get to do what he could not? It seemed a bit unfair. Itasuske went in first, not recognizing the niceties and leaving his sandals on. "You might want to…" But before Noah could say anything, a pot came flying at Itasuske.

"What did I do?" he asked.

"You forgot to take off your sandals." Noah said quite simply. "So, if one does not take off one's sandals, you get pots thrown at you?" Itasuske looked incredulous. "The niceties must be observed." Noah said, taking his own sandals off. Itasuske mumbled something about grandmas and sucking eggs, but took off his sandals as well.

"You have come to me asking that I be your guide along the path of your Byakugan and some of the healing arts. But, be warned, to learn the Byakugan, you must learn about your inner self." Hinata said. "Let us explore your soul through meditation." She concluded.

About ten minutes later, Itasuske was a little antsy. "Uhhh, Lady Hinata, how long is this going to take?" Itasuske asked.

"The knowledge of the Byakugan is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon." Hinata said.

"So, like, what, an hour or so?" Itasuske asked stupidly. "No, we have not even begun upon the path. Itasuske, you must learn patience." "Yeah, patience, how long will that take?" He asked before he could think. Curse his smart mouth. Hinata looked at him coolly. "If my teachings are too slow for you, perhaps you can go somewhere else?" she said with her own unique humor. "No, I will stay here." Itasuske said humbly.

Within 7 hours, Itasuske had learned how to use the gentle fist style of attacking, and thought, 'I could be excellent to be combined with his Dragoon style of fighting.'

"Now that you are sufficient in the gentle fist, I will teach you about how to heal by sealing off chakra points." She showed him that since the chakra network was so closely connected with the veins and major internal organs of the body, you could potentially bring someone back from the dead if you sealed off the right chakra points. "But I warn you. Do not try that unless it is the last resort. If you do try this technique, you could cripple the one you are trying to save."

"I'll be sure to lay off the arms and legs then." Itasuske said.

"Right you are. I'm afraid I can't teach you how to deal with poison, but I can teach you a jutsu that will make your blood, if it is clean, into a living anti-virus." She taught him how to purify his blood of all toxins by concentrating his chakra into the blood. He then activated his Byakugan to see how it turned out. It wasn't bad, and could prove to be an antidote in the field.

"Thank you, Lady Hinata." Itasuske bowed and stood up again.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Itasuske." Hinata reciprocated. "It is getting late, I should head back." "Make sure Noah doesn't get into too much trouble." Hinata called back as he started running off.

That was quite the accomplishment, he thought to himself. He was drained, tired, and a bit hungry, but what else is training there for, huh? Not only did he know a new fighting style, but he learned about some medical jutsus and o purification jutsu, which could purify water as well, he had learned.

He got home a bit late, and he started walking in through the door. He suddenly felt something hit his head. "A chalkboard eraser? Who in the world?" Then it clicked. Nakita, she would pull a prank like this. He searched around and found her in the dining room, trying unsuccessfully to keep a straight face.

"So," she said. "is everything settled out?" "Yes, it is." Itasuske said. "Then here, take this!" she lunged playfully at him. He rolled on the ground with her until they were both lying on their sides.

"So was that what you wanted to give me?" Itasuske asked. "No, I wanted to give you this." She kissed him. After they had broken away from it, Itasuske managed a small, "Wow, that was worth it." before he went to sleep, exhausted.

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Meanwhile, the crow watched. Once Itasuske had fallen asleep, the crow flew off toward it's true master. Once it had gotten there, the crow spoke to the owner.

"Nice, very nice" a sultry female voice said.

"But we must wait. He still knows not what he is." a businessman like voice said.

"True, true. But how long must we wait?" an impatient sounding man said.

"The time is close at hand, do not worry." the woman's voice said again. When all the crows cleared off, only one person could be seen.

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Itasuske had just refereed a pretty exciting match. These two friends really were masters of their crafts. On one side, Migato Gai, and on the other, Hatake Kakashi. Itasuske was quite entertained by the match because they didn't even fight. They wanted a referee for a staring contest! Of course, being the dojo's Judicator, he was obliged to help them. Then after the stare down was finished, with Kakashi the winner, Gai said something about it being now 395 to 393. The first number being the number of times Gai had won versus the second number being the number of times Kakashi had won.

"You made it so I would win, didn't you?" Kakashi said after Gai had left. "No, I pride myself on being a fair judge."

Kakashi looked at his two-toned eyes. "You are that experiment that Orochimaru tried, aren't you. You have both the Byakugan and the Sharingan."

Itasuske gave a small sigh. "Yes, I am that person. But please do not call me a "Experiment", I am a person."

Kakashi gave him a smile, or Itasuske thought he did, he always kept that mask on. "My apologies, It's just one of my students was recruited by Orochimaru, and I feel that it should be my job to take him out." Itasuske considered these words carefully. Was he implying anything? He hoped he did not.

As Kakashi was leaving, Itasuske went up to him. "Can you please train me so I can become strong enough to help you in your quest?"

Kakashi looked surprised, but not all that much. "And why should I train you?"

Itasuske considered this, and came up with a good solution, he thought. "Because you are the only alive who can teach me how to use my skills to the utmost." Kakashi looked at him. Itasuske looked back at him.

"No, not right now." Kakashi said. Itasuske looked defeated. "But that is not to say I won't train you. I have something important to do right now, so I don't have time to train you." Kakashi gave him a smile, maybe. Then he left, and had Itasuske wondering on how he was going to get stronger..

As if on queue, Nakita came through the dojo doors. "Hey! I'm off for the rest of the day, and so are you!" she went up and hugged him. He could always count on her to make him feel better. "What's wrong? You seem to be in the dumps."

Itasuske looked at her and gave a half-hearted smile. "I just got rejected by Kakashi to train me." Nakita looked a bit concerned, but not overly. "Ah, who needs that poof anyway? He is just one man, after all." Itasuske looked at Nakita with renewed respect. "Indeed, he is only one man."

"So, you want to do anything for the rest of the day?" Nakita chided him. "Mmmmmmm, possibly…." He went and tackled her in a soft way. They both rolled around like little kids for a bit, then they both lied down on the Dojo floor. They did eventually get up and go to their room. When they got there, a man was waiting by their front door.

"Who are you?" Itasuske said.

The man looked familiar, but not wholly in place. The most distinguishing feature o him was a white cape, and a ring in the shape of a snake.

"Chronos, what are you doing here?" Nakita asked. "Nakita, you know this person?" Nakita looked a little sly. "What? And you don't?" Itasuske looked incredulous. Hadn't he just asked this man, Chronos, for his name.

"Nakita, right? My memory is a bit off. You are one of the Kanoichi who helped my replace Thanatos, correct?"

Nakita smiled. "Yep, that's me!"

Chronos looked at Nakita. "You have grown a lot since we last met." Then he looked at Itasuske. "You have a great destiny before you, but first you need a lot of training." With that, and a slight feeling of déjà vu, Chronos was gone.

"Is he always that cryptic?" Itasuske asked. "Yeah, most of the time. Here, I have something to teach you!"

It was still mid-afternoon, so they had a bit of time to spare. "First, activate your Sharingan, because I will only be able to do this once." Once Itasuske had activated his Sharingan, Nakita made a hand sign, concentrated, then was a mile away the next second. Even though he did have the Sharingan, he barely caught where Nakita went.

"Wow, what speed." he said. He then looked and saw that Nakita had collapsed. He went and made sure she was ok, until a half hour was up, then Nakita recovered and regained consciousness.

"Whew, forgot how much that takes out of you." Nakita said. "You try it now." Itasuske made the hand sign, then Nakita said, "Focus on our room, then imagine yourself there."

Itasuske focused, then knew that he was there. He opened his eyes, for one second saw the room, then the next second collapsed on the floor. When he woke, Nakita was standing over him. "You see, it is a very useful escape jutsu, called the Sound Speed jutsu." Itasuske looked up. "But this could also be a offensive jutsu." Itasuske thought in his mind. But only in truly dire situations. The consequences of using it as a offence would be quite dramatic, if not messy.

"Now, while I am here…" Nakita said. She then went into the bathroom. She came back with Itasuske's towel. "If you value your towel, you will have to do something for me." Itasuske reached for his towel, but Nakita pulled it away at the last second.

"How did you…" Itasuske started.

"Find it?" Nakita finished, "I do have some free time when I am not with you because you have some extra refereeing to do." Nakita had a satisfied smile on her face. Itasuske looked defeated.

"What do you want?" he resolved to take the easy way out. "My demands are simple, you must first let me use it, for I have no towels for myself." "Done, can I have it back now?" Itasuske said. It was a small sacrifice. At least he would know where it was at all times.

"Not yet," Nakita had a small smile on her face. "Now you have to sing the Little Tea Pot song!" Itasuske had a horrified look on his face. "Wha?!?!? Not that, please!" He HATED that song, and she knew it too. "Do it, or you will never see your towel again!" Itasuske resigned himself. "I'm a little tea pot, short and stout….."


	6. Date Fight

Disclaimer: sigh I think I made my point. O and Noah and Twilight belong to two other friends of mine.

She had watched him since he was created, she thought to herself. What a fool that Orochimaru was to discard such an almost perfect being. The only thing that was wrong with him was that he felt. If he was under my wing, she thought to herself, then I could fix that. She was watching him even now, but by her crows, not directly exposing herself. She remembered her mission quite clearly. She had to prevent the boy from going into the past, so that her and her brethren's fate would be better. This boy, as he was now, was the backbone of the movement that had destroyed all of them except herself and her very weakened partner. But we all have our soft points, she thought. She had not killed the boy, because of her own ambitions. She wanted to train the boy herself and teach him how to be a Taken.

"Another time, perhaps." she said to herself. With that, she went back to check up on her weakened partner.

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Itasuske was definitely having a good day. The day was beautiful, but even mother nature had a ace up her sleeve. When he came over to pick up Nakita from their room, she was absolutely radiant. He never thought that black could bring out colors, but it seemed to enhance her golden eyes and her perfect figure. To him, who had only seen her in either her dirty ninja tunic and her Hostess getup, this was not only a total surprise, but it made him look quite shabby. He had on his most current robe and non-descript black pants. He was taking her out to dinner tonight at the local fancy restaurant.

She gave him a teasing smile and said, "How do I look?" she did a little spin to show off all the parts of her dress. Her long black hair seemed to blend in perfectly into the back of the pure black dress. The length of the skirt was to about knee level, just enough to accentuate her legs without making her look like a street walker. Her top was a normal dress top, but to make the whole thing perfect, she had a sliver necklace with a obsidian gemstone of some kind set in the center.

"Like the heavens opened up and left me a work of perfection." He had to try hard not to stare too badly. "You look, good yourself, but let me do some things to it." She pulled off his cloak and went into a different room.

When she came back, the cloak was still the same color, but the white rose on the back seemed to be alive with color. The black on the cloak also seemed to shimmer in the light. "Wow, what did you do?"

She looked at him incredulously. "Cleaned it."

They went to the restaurant, and when they got there, the waiter showed them to a table in the corner.

"I feel…weird here." Nakita said.

"So do I. I think it is just because we are used to eating on the road and not really caring on how we look or if we follow etiquette." Itasuske concluded. "Yeah, probably." Nakita agreed. But that wasn't how she really thought. It felt like something was going to happen.

Itasuske looked at the menu. Over half of it was in a different dialect so he couldn't make heads or tails of anything. Nakita looked like she was having the same problem. The only thing that Itasuske really recognized was ramen, but it was in the appetizer section, so it was going to be a small bowl.

"So, what do you think this "Chili" is?" Itasuske asked. "I have no clue whatsoever," Nakita said. "But it sounds like it will be cold" Itasuske considered. It seemed like a logical conclusion. "What do you fancy?" Itasuske asked Nakita.

"Let's get outta here, I just don't feel right here." Nakita said. "Ok, we can go." So they both got up and started walking out. Just as soon as they opened the door to get out. It closed right on their faces.

"Wha….." was all Itasuske could say before they were both thrown back into the dining room, but this time, all the candles were out and the room was lit only by moonlight.

"Can you beat what you can't see?" a voice whispered into Itasuske's ear. "Nakita, was that you?" Then, when he didn't hear a response, he turned around and saw Nakita pinned to the wall by some invisible force. Then he saw it.

A person in all black was floating in midair and had it's arms crossed. "Come with me, Itasuske. I can make you much more powerful than you are right now." it said in a deep baritone voice. The figure said. Itasuske considered. This obviously was a shinobi of considerable power.

Then he looked over at Nakita again, and that made his mind up for him. "Not interested. You trap my girlfriend and you expect me to just give over to you? Not a chance!" Itasuske activated his Byakugan, and saw that this being had a HUGE reserve of chakra, so much so that even if he did manage to block off chakra points, they would just open up again.

"I see you see the futility of trying to use your gentle fist style, so why don't you just give up?" it said in a female business like voice. Weird, he thought, that this person could change voices so quickly. "Here, I have another reason you should be with me," it said in a seductive female voice. It took of it's hood, to reveal a woman in about her early twenties with magnificent black hair that went to her back. She, as it seems, looked like what Nakita would in 4 years, he considered. He was now sorely tempted to just go over there and melt with her. Indeed, he did start walking toward her.

"ITASUSKE!!!!!!!!!" the real Nakita shouted, "YOU DO THAT, AND WE ALL LOSE!!!!!!!!" That jarred him out of his revere. "Right." Itasuske said. He reactivated his Byakugan, and went into his dragoon stance.

"Come at me, if you dare, wench." he taunted the woman.

"Please, call me Soulcatcher, or Catcher for short." the woman said. She reached out an arm to do a jutsu, but Itasuske was just waiting for this opening to happen. As soon as Catcher pulled up her arm, Itasuske pounced, grabbed the arm, flung her to the ground, and with a sickening crack, broke her arm. Nakita dropped to the floor because Catcher had lost concentration. She went right next to Itasuske as he backed up.

"You fools. Do you take me for the Limper?" Catcher quickly got up, made a little flurry with her fingers, and her other arm was repaired. Then she flung her arms in Itasuske's direction. He flew into the wall with the force of a bull charging. Itasuske smashed into that wall and broke through it. Nakita knew she was outclassed, so she tried to reach Itasuske to get away.

"No you don't, little girl." Catcher did the same thing to her, but Nakita flew out of the building. She had to get Noah and Twilight, if he still worked there, she considered. Hopefully Kaori's also still in town. It would be the last of them that they would have to take care of. Nakita went straight to Noah's room. "Noah, we have a problem"

Meanwhile, Soulcatcher had taken Itasuske to a remote situation. He was chained to a table, and was having hot wax dripped onto his back while Catcher was whipping him.

"Why do you still resist? Your friends have abandoned you, you are weak, and you couldn't protect your love. What else do you have to live for?" she asked him. He still had one thing to hold on to. It was small, but it was all he had left of his sanity. He still had that Kunai in his pocket. He felt it's weight, and remembered the promise he made to himself. Never relent, never give up, even at the bleakest times.

"I…still…resist…because…..I am not done." Itasuske whispered. The boy had amazing resiliency, she had to give him that.

"I can make you complete, I can have you bury that kunai in your pocket into the heart of that man who you owe it to. With me, anything is possible." Itasuske felt another crack of the whip and another bead of hot wax drip onto his back. He felt like he was going to go insane. _"Hold on, we are coming."_ a small voice said in his head.

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The four Shinobi were outside of the forest where they knew where Itasuske was. It seemed like any other forest, except this one had crows. Everywhere. There seemed to be no end to the amount of birds that could be in there.

"We will need light. You got that covered, Kaori?" Nakita asked.

"Yes, I do. We will also need a distraction. Twilight, you got that covered?" Kaori sounded concerned. She was the first one to meet Itasuske from her past, she knew what rested on Itasuske's shoulders.

"Yep, I got a pretty good one up my sleeve." Twilight said. Though he was one of the last to meet Itasuske, he still was the key member for the past.

"I have a score to settle with Catcher. I will deal with her when the time comes." Noah said. He knew what it was like, being taken by a Taken. He had succumbed to the power of Shifter when he received a "gift" from him. With Shifter being dead, Noah wore the ring still because he felt like he had to atone for what he did. The ring was now more symbol than power object.

"Good, now that we have that settled, let's go." Nakita concluded.

Then they had a slight feeling of déjà vu, and Chronos appeared. "You have more to go through than just Soulcatcher. She has twisted Itasuske not to her will yet, but it will be more difficult to rehabilitate him once he is saved." he said.

"You mean we are too late? Has time shifted already?" Nakita sounded very worried. Itasuske could be as terrible or even more so than any Taken they had faced so far.

"No, it is not too late, but I must help you if you are to succeed." Chronos still had that kind of monotone voice. "Kaori, do your light right now right there." Chronos pointed to the middle of the forest. Kaori's hair changed, and a bright beam of light shone right in the middle. "Hold on." Chronos said. Then they were in the middle of the forest, but before the light had shone. "Take care." he said, then he disappeared.

Soulcatcher turned around, and saw the four of them. "So, the little shinobi come out to play?" She was floating right next to Itasuske, who was lying on the table still. Several lesions scored the back of Itasuske from all the lashes he took.

"You….bitch!" Nakita exploded. Right when she said that, the bright beam of light made the whole forest come into focus. All the crows flew away, and a small figure could also be seen quite far off. Soulcatcher reeled from the light, and Twilight took this opportunity to its fullest. He rushed up to her and kicked her straight in the jaw. "Now!"

Kaori had already known what he was thinking. She had her ice Rasangan prepared as well as a clone of Twilight had done. They both jumped up and hit Catcher straight in the chest. Nakita pulled out a midnight black bow, strung a silver arrow onto it, and fired. She hit Catcher straight in the gut. Catcher fell with a hideous Thud then didn't seem to get up. Noah went up and tried to asses the damage, but before he could do that, Catcher got up.

"You…fools." She said. "I am Soulcatcher!" with that, the light was gone. They could still see, but the light had faded. Kaori tried to do the same jutsu again, but she was smacked in the temple by a large, heavy metal staff, knocking her out.

"Itasuske save me, I must atone for my actions." Noah rushed Soulcatcher, Byakugan active.

"Typical Hyuga." Catcher concluded, with out seeing the blade cut into her back. "Argh, what the…" was all she could say before Noah came in and started beating the living daylights out of her. Slowly, the bestial form of Noah took over. Calculated blows and counters became wild and unpredictable swipes. After the savage beating, Noah backed off and returned to normal.

"_Well, I guess I will have to turn young Itasuske another time."_ came a voice inside their heads. They all turned to see Catcher and her companion leave on horse-back.

Nakita ran up to Itasuske and checked his wounds. He was barely breathing, then she went up to Kaori and woke her using the palm healing jutsu. "You have to wake Itasuske, Kaori." she said.

"Right." Kaori went up to Itasuske and brushed his forehead. This young man was the key to almost everything that they had done. He didn't look it now, but Itasuske was going to become the most powerful among them. Maybe not in power, but in will and Stamina. "Moonlight blessing." She kissed him on the forehead. He opened his eyes five minutes after that, and spotted Nakita.

"Is…she..gone?" he asked. "Yes, that evil woman is gone, for now." Nakita ran up to him and engulfed him in a tremendous hug. It had seemed an eternity since he had last seen her. not….protect you. I am deeply shamed." Itasuske managed.

"Don't you go saying things like that. Ever. You were up against something that took all of us to even injure." Nakita showed him the others were here. He looked and nodded to each one of them, and when he saw Noah, he cracked a smile. "Sorry, boss, but I think I left the water running." With that, everyone laughed a great deal. It was nice to see that some humanity was left inside of Itasuske.

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They stopped about a mile away from the forest. "Those foolish insects. Who are they to challenge me, Soulcatcher?" "Maybe…You should….attend to me. I….can help….you." Soulcatcher looked back and snarled. "Only if I must." They got their horses into a gallop, making them go to their real hiding spot.


	7. Itasuske VS Sasuke

You know what he is to become, right Catcher

You know what he is to become, right Catcher?" the other figure said.

"Yes, Howler, I do know." She said in her gruff male voice.

"Then heal me, and I can help you as well."

"Ha, no chance, not even in a million years. You would take all the credit for yourself and have me executed. I know you, Howler." Catcher said the first and the second in her business voice, and the third in her most manipulative voice, her own.

"I have been wanting to get back at that Twilight for so long, I don't care about Itasuske anymore." Howler said. He then gave one of his screams that gave him his name. "I…..am in…..so much…..PAIN!!" Howler barked.

"If you will be under my command, and never question me, I will heal you to the best of my abilities." Catcher said.

"Grrrrrrrr. Do it." Howler resigned himself.

"Perfect" 

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Itasuske was still having a hard time doing this. He had tried for so long, but he just couldn't get the hang of it. He was walking on water, that went straight up to a tree, that required him to use a clone while he was perpendicular. Every time he got to the top of the tree, he concentrated on the target, which distracted him from the tree, which made him fall into the water. Another day of Nakita's training.

"Come on, wimp. If Naruto could do this, you can to. Just think of everything at once. It is not a question of concentration, but of awareness! Try it again."

Itasuske got up with a few ragglesnazes and futz's, but he did go to try it again. He made his way across the water, climbed up the tree, and got to the target. He then still felt the water beneath him, the tree at his feet, and the target right before him. He made a small hand sign, and Goblin came out. His feet still on the tree, he told the small dragon to go hit the target. Goblin did as he was told, but before he could, he noticed Nakita, as lovely as ever. Goblin took this opportunity to go and try for Nakita again.

He crept slowly on the ground, thinking that he was being real sly. His head hit a piece of metal. "What the?" was all he could manage before Nakita said "Fore!" and he was blasted three football fields away.

"I told you never to try." Nakita said as she went back to see Itasuske. He was standing triumphantly with his clone, surrounding the target. "How's that?"

Kakashi looked on to see Nakita and Itasuske get their stuff and leave the place they were training. It was amazing, that the daughter of the snake and the snake's creation were in love. Well, he thought to himself, it was either that or they would kill each other.

When they started moving, he stepped out of the bushes. "Well, now that kiddy hour is done, you want to train with me, Itasuske?"

Itasuske was flabbergasted. He was about to be trained by the legendary Hatake, Kakashi! How could he refuse? "Is that ok with you, Nakita?"

Nakita, miffed about that last comment about her training being "Kiddy Hour" looked understandably annoyed. "Only if I can look on to make sure you don't stretch him too thin."

Kakashi looked at her. "Fine, but there are going to be things that will be extremely difficult for him, you understand."

Nakita fired right back. "If I feel he is being pushed too hard, then I will stop it."

Who was this woman, telling him what to do? I guess arrogance is an inherited trait, he concluded. "Whatever. Itasuske, come this way. Kakashi led them to a abandoned shed.

"Now, I am here for two things. One is how to use your Sharingan properly. Because you are not a true Uchiha, you will be more like me with your Sharingan, meaning you can use it mostly to copy people." Itasuske understood the reasoning behind this, so he simply nodded. "The other, well, I think you know."

Itasuske's eyes sparkled. "The Chidori?"

"Yes, but I will also teach you how to make it your own, so it will no longer just be a Chidori, but something much greater."

Nakita knew this day would come. Itasuske in the future talked about his training with Kakashi-sensei, but it was always hard seeing him progress. She knew with every passing day, her time with Itasuske grew shorter. She knew that she needed to marry him, eventually. But when? He was about 19 right now. That meant that they only had two years. But that would be enough time. He would come back to her, because she remembered his leaving from the time of the Taken. When he did come back from that journey, she would be waiting for him.

The end of the day came, with Itasuske learning the Chidori in record time. "You were a much better student than Sasuke. Well done." Kakashi then disappeared, leaving Itasuske and Nakita to their own devices.

"So, back to the Inn?" Itasuske asked. This was the Itasuske that Nakita loved to see. He had a purpose, a dream, a idea. Nakita smiled, kissed him, and turned towards the sunset. "Catch me if you can!" She yelled as Itasuske ran after her. 

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"So, this Itasuske fellow, is he even a challenge?" said a old familiar voice. Sasuke came into the clearing where the note told him to.

"I think he will be more than a challenge for you." Soulcatcher said, materializing out of thin air.

"Why do you say that, you were able at capture and torture him no sweat. Why am I listening to you?" Sasuke turned and started walking away.

"Don't you want to see the only man with both Byakugan and Sharingan?" Soulcatcher said in her normal voice.

That caught Sasuke's attention. "Both?" he asked.

"Yes, both, and he has been trained by none other than your old sensei, Kakashi." She added extra venom to that last part, knowing that she had just reeled in her own secret weapon. All according to plan, she thought. 

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Itasuske was doing his normal routine. Making sure the dojo was in working order, cleaning messes left behind from previous battles, making sure that Jiraiya wasn't doing any "research" around the premises. Once he finished that, there was not much else to do. Maybe it is time to move on, he thought to himself. He knew what they had going on here was good, but he missed the open road and all the uncertainties that came along with that freedom. Maybe he should run that by Nakita first before he took any action.

So, when they both got off work (They both swore that Noah had them get off at the same time everyday because he knew they had to be together.) Itasuske asked her, "You want to go for a walk? How about in the woods right over there?"

Nakita brushed the hair out of her face. Her face was now common place for him, but it still knocked him out how beautiful she was. Then she smiled. "Ok, sounds like fun after all the sitting I have done today."

As they reached the woods, Nakita was the first one to talk. "You think we should get outa here?" The question caught him a little off guard, but recovered fast enough to make a good answer. "I was about to ask you the same question! What are your reasons?"

Nakita stared at him for a second, almost looking surprised that he had asked that question. "Look at me, Itasuske, I am the daughter of the snake. People will start recognizing me even if I do transformation. That is why this is the longest stay I've ever had with so many people."

Itasuske considered this. He had always thought of her as the best thing ever, even better than sliced bread. Why couldn't other people see the same? "Well, I have a wanderlust that needs to be quenched, somehow." Itasuske said.

"Then tomorrow we will both give our two weeks notice and then…..oph." She seemed to be hit in the gut. Itasuske looked around, and saw a shadowy silhouette. "Catcher, why you…." Itasuske started to go into a fighting stance, and the figure came out of the shade.

Sasuke came face to face with Itasuske, almost mocking him with that cocky grin he had. "So, you are the Infamous Itasuske? Tell me, why don't you have a last name? Daddy didn't want you to know where you were from? It seems so childish." He looked at Itasuske's eyes. "So it is true, you do have both. This should be quite interesting." He jumped backwards, and landed in a classic Uchiha fighting stance.  
"Why would he want to soil his hands in garbage like you, Sas-gay U-cheat-ha?" Nakita said with all the subtly of a sledgehammer.

"You, like your father, underestimate me. I have true strength, one that does not rely on other people."

Itasuske looked at Sauske. Was this something that would have happened had Nakita not come along? Would he have been this selfish, this cocky as this Uchiha was? Thank goodness that he did not turn out this way. "If you call what you have strength, then I will be the one to test that out."

Itasuske came rushing in with his Byakugan activated. He knew that Sasuke could most likely predict his moves, but he wanted to lull him into a sense of security. He made a few quick strikes, which Sasuke easily dodged, as expected. Itasuske then got hit in the face with a straight kick, which sent him flying. That much was not expected.

As he hit the tree, Itasuske remembered all of his training, all the lessons that he had learned. He got back up, and said "Is that all? Come on, Kabuto hits better than you."

That got him mad.

"Fire style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" a bunch of fire bolts went after Itasuske.

"Rotation!" all of them bounced off.

So, Sasuke thought to himself, He knows the Rotation. So much the better.

When the smoke cleared, Itasuske was standing in the same spot, but this time with a different stance. "Seriously, you have a long way to go if you want to beat me with just that!" Itasuske goaded Sasuke.

Sasuke then rushed Itasuske. But this time, Itasuske had the upper hand. He had his Sharingan active, and with the Dragoon fighting style, quickly turned Sasuke's strength into his weakness.

"How, how can you do that? You only have one, while I have two!" Sauske exclaimed.

"I may only have one of your precious eyes, but it is also a combination of skill that I have acquired." Itasuske said, looking straight at Sauske.

While this was going on, Nakita was watching the two boys fight. Why am I always in the background? She asked herself. I can contribute, but would that mess with the timeline? She just sat, and when Itasuske hit the tree, she was tempted to go and help, but saw him get back up before she could do anything. When Itasuske turned Sasuke and made him look like the sissy girl that he was, She called out "Way to go Itasuske!" But was pretty sure he couldn't hear her. Itasuske was warm and gentle and all out good when they were alone, but when the fighting broke out, he was in his own little world. Nakita had resigned herself whenever he fought, but knew that he would come to her whenever she needed it.

Then, as she was contemplating, a kunai flew right in front of her face. Attached to it was a note. It read "I am going to kill your father. If you value his life and Itasuske's, meet me at the waterfall." Nakita looked around, saw no one, and thought. She really couldn't care for Orochimaru the way he was acting lately, but she did care for Itasuske. She quickly set out to the only waterfall she knew.

Sasuke reeled back from another failed attempt to break the Dragoon stance. "Well, I can see that this is getting nowhere, so I will come back another time to see if anything has changed. But for now…" he took out his Katana. "I'll leave you a little gift." He came up at a weird angle with his sword. Itasuske was able to counter it, but barely. Then he noticed a cut across the back of his hand, "That wound will scar, but will never heal. I have seen to that." Sauske said as he put his sword back in it's sheath. "Now, I have more important matters to attend to, so if you will excuse me." Then he disappeared.

Itasuske then turned to where he knew Nakita was, but didn't see her. A cold chill went down his spine and made him sick in the stomach. What had he done? He quickly went to that spot and all he could see was a kunai with a note. What waterfall? Where was she?

He quickly went to Noah. "We need to start searching for Nakita. Now." He showed Noah the note.

"I will get Twilight and all my staff right on it." Noah said. 

Meanwhile, Nakita had come to the waterfall. She saw her father on the ground, slumped over, unconscious. She pulled out her bow, and waited for the worst to happen.


	8. Beginning of the End

Disclaimer: I'm going to kill you if you don't have it in your head by now….

Itasuske was worried. He had been searching all the waterfalls in the immediate area, but there was still no sign of Nakita. He searched high and low for everything that could even be considered a waterfall, but didn't find it. He heard that the others; Noah, Twilight, and Kaori didn't have any luck as well. Where could she be? It was getting late, but he would not give up. She could be in danger or could be dying. He couldn't tell what was happening; curse Sauske and himself. He had let her slip away. He vowed to himself that this kind of thing would not happen again. He searched the next likely target, with no luck as usual. He needed to find a better system. That struck a bell. Better System. It clicked, and he knew where to go.

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"You see, Nakita, I can disable that fool of a shinobi that your father was. It will be easy to take you out." A deep bass voice said.

"Ok, Howler, show yourself, so I can pick those scabs off your face with this." Nakita drew her bow. The Howler dropped from a high tree with a tremendous -THUD-.

He chuckled. "You are the fool that Catcher said you would be. You think you can take me, by yourself?"

Nakita snarled. "I am MORE than a match for you, you half hearted fool of a shinobi. Kaori should have finished you when she had the chance!" Howler reared back and made on of his famous howls. "You will be captured today so that Itasuske will come for you!" So that was it, Nakita thought. She was going to be bait for a trap. Not on her watch. "We will see." she said. When she said that, a arrow pierced into the Howler's shoulder.

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Itasuske heard the howl coming from the place he thought to go next. The irrigation system. Water, which came from the nearby mountain, fell into the irrigation system. So it was a literal water fall. When he got there, he saw Nakita shoot the arrow into this strange man's shoulder. This man looked a lot like Soulcatcher, except that this man was quite a bit bigger. He had the urge to shout to support Nakita, but thought better of it when he considered that he could distract her. If she really needed it, he was there to help her out. Otherwise, this was her fight. This is going to be great, he thought to himself, I'm finally going to see Nakita fight!

"_Itasuske, I will need your help, eventually."_ he heard Nakita's voice in his head.

After Nakita had fired her bolt, The Howler rushed her. She quickly shot another arrow into his other shoulder, then folded her bow and split it apart, creating two short swords. She jumped over Howler and attached chains onto the arrows in his shoulders.

"What are you planning to do with these? Trap me?" He made a hand sign, and the chains broke off.

"Nope, but I did plan you doing that." She also made a hand sign, and the small pieces buried themselves into Howler's face, creating a metal mask.

"Wha? Huh? What is this?" he said. "It is now 11 o'clock. You know what that means?" She got a huge hammer and hit the metal mask 11 times. The mask fell off, and The Howler couldn't hear. Plus he was severely disoriented.

She got her two swords and buried them into Howler's chest. She then kicked them deeper into his chest, and linked chains to them. Howler struggled, but he couldn't do much because of what Nakita had done before. She swung Howler around with the chains, and slammed him into the ground with a sickening -crunch-. She was panting, that last attack had taken a lot out of her. She saw that Howler was not moving, so she went and pulled her blades out of him. She was walking away, and didn't notice he had gotten up. He was chanting slowly and softly, so she wouldn't hear.

Itasuske saw that Nakita didn't notice Howler getting up. Right as Howler unleashed his jutsu, something purplish and snaking through the ground. He jumped down, hugged Nakita close to his body, and did a rotation. The thing reeled and disappeared as soon as it hit the rotation.

"What are you doing here?" Nakita asked. "How long have you been watching?"

"No time right now, we got this guy to take out." He pointed to Howler. He looked frightened, Howler was the only on to have seen Itasuske's wrath, and lived to tell about it. But then that fear turned to certainty.

"Right on time." he said.

"Why did you come? I could have taken this guy out, easy!" Nakita said.

"But you told me that you would need help!" Itasuske pleaded. "No, I didn't! I didn't even know you were here!" Itasuske then realized, he was not in a good situation. Soulcatcher and Sauske both cam put of the shadows.

"Hm. Not so tough, are you, Itasuske?" Sauske said. To tell the truth, Itasuske was scared out of his wits. Then, to top it off, Orochimaru got up. "Come, Nakita. If you go with me, you will be spared the fate of this young lad here."

Nakita looked hurt. "You also helped set this up? But why?"

Orochimaru sniggered. "Well, to tell the truth, I was offered more power than I ever had. Now come, let us go."

Nakita changed from hurt to defiant. "I will not abandon Itasuske. Not until you can pry him away from me."

They went into their tandem fighting stance that they had worked on. "How cute, the love birds think they can beat us with their silly little fighting style." Howler said. Itasuske talked to Nakita in a personal thought speech. _"We cannot win here. We must go back and regroup with the others. Both of us use speed sound?"_ Nakita did a very small nod. They held hands, and both were gone.

"Another failed attempt, Catcher, another failed attempt." Howler said. "It is not the end of this trap, there is still more to unfold. They probably went to the Inn. They will find their friends there, and we will get them all there." Catcher sounded assured of herself. They all started towards the inn.

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Itasuske and Nakita reached the Inn, and both almost fainted. "hmm, interesting. It seems we share the load when we speed sound together." Itasuske noticed. Noah and Kaori were waiting there for them. "Where's Twilight?" Nakita asked. "He is still off looking for you. Why, is something going to happen?" Kaori asked. Itasuske answered almost immediately. "We are going to have serious problems. I believe that we will have visitors soon." The sense of dread was almost palpable. "Who is coming?" Noah asked. "Soulcatcher, Howler, Sauske, and Orochimaru." Nakita finished for Itasuske. "Ok," Noah said "I have developed a Genjutsu for just this sort of occasion. What you do is……."

Soulcatcher thought this was her greatest work yet. As they neared the inn, She started singing, plunging the Inn and themselves in her own twisted nightmare world. The inn itself stayed the same, but the world outside changed dramatically. The inn was now in a barren wasteland, instead of the lush field that it was in before.

"This place always gave me the creeps." Howler said. Orochimaru also looked severely wierded out as well. Sauske looked around and saw a very strange creature. It looked like a giant crab, but it had a giant skull for a shell. Upon closer inspection, a person lived in that skull. Her face was bloated and her eyes looked like they would pop out of her face. Sauske had never seen anything like this. No one had, except Soulcatcher herself. This was her world after all. The many bizarre creatures that roamed here were her own creations. Unless Itasuske and his ilk could defeat them, they would all be stuck in this world. And if they wanted go get back out, they would have to let her go. Her security was set.

They reached the door of the inn, and Howler was a bit apprehensive. "Remember, we are not dealing with normal Ninja here."

"Quiet, you fool." Orochimaru hissed. "I agree with Orochimaru here." Sauske said. "We must be silent to have a chance."

They went inside, and found no one in the foyer, so they all went to the dining room. No luck there either. "I know were they are." They all whispered simultaneously. They all went to the Dojo, and spotted all of them in the same stance, all of them doing the same hand sign. All of them were in a line. They all squared off.

"Good, Sealing Jutsu!" Itasuske said as Sauske squared off against him. The others had sealed up their opponents in.

"I will take you out this time." Kaori as she sealed Howler in.

"Father, this is for tricking me and hunting us down." Nakita said, sealing Orochimaru. Noah and Soulcatcher simply squared off, neither one of them had much to say that already hadn't been said.


	9. Last Battle: We Can Finally Rest

Disclaimer: ………. I'm not even going to say anything. O btw the fights all end at the same time. Just to minus the confusion.

Kaori struck first, creating a bolt of pure light and throwing it at the Howler. It made a glancing blow on his shoulder, burning a patch of his rotting skin, creating a foul smell. He responded by loosing a deafening howl and lunging at Kaori. She quickly dodged and threw a handful of ice Senbon into his back.

He simply shrugged and mocked her. "Ow? Was that supposed to hurt? You are getting soft, Kaori." He made another lunge at Kaori. She dodged again, and threw more Senbon into his back. "Why don't you use your Rasangan? It helped you so much last time." The Howler said mockingly. He then started making a hand sign, but he discovered a solid sheet of unbreakable ice covering his back, and it was spreading.

"What the……. What is this?" he exclaimed.

"A little something I cooked up. I call it Ice Entrapment." The ice now covered his shoulders, making it hard to move his arms. "No, I will not be turned into a Howl-sickle!"

He then made one hand sign, and flames erupted all around him. The ice melted, prompting Kaori to change tactics. Once the fires died down, Kaori came up behind him and tried kicking him in the back of the head. He quickly caught her and threw her to the ground. She rolled on the ground, making the impact less by spreading it across her whole body. It was still a hard hit to take, and she looked like it was a bit to hard. She was in a ball, but was not moving.

"Face it, little girl. You couldn't kill me then, you can't kill me now!" He said as he stomped up to Kaori's prone body. Kaori then sprang from her ball, having one hand glow ice blue and one moonlight silver. "Moonlight Banishing! Ice Rasangan!"

The Howler was not expecting this. What in the world was Moonlight Banishing? He got hit by both of those, flew way off into the distance, stuck in a shell of Ice. When Kaori walked up to his frozen form, she sighed. "True, I cannot kill you, but I can make it so no one will find you." She opened a hole of darkness, and shoved Howler into it. "Goodbye, and good riddance."

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"You do know what you are getting into, right?" Sauske said to Itasuske.

"I'm about to face a traitor to the leaf. The second one from the same clan." Itasuske dug in a wound that would probably never heal.

Sauske activated his Sharingan. "Never compare me to him."

Itasuske got his gentle fist stance ready. "Why not? It is true."

"I am NOT anything like my brother!" Sauske said, rushing at Itasuske, sword drawn.

"Oh, right, you stuck with Orochimaru, your brother didn't." Itasuske said, dodging the swipes Sauske made, though it was getting harder to do. He did a back flip and switched to Dragoon style. Sauske saw that his style had changed, and that he could not get through it.

"What about you? You are pretty much in love with your sister." he said coolly.

"Nakita is NOT my sister. She is the true offspring of Orochimaru, while I am just a experiment." Itasuske said this, and he felt even more resolute. Sauske said "Enough of this!" and rushed at Itasuske again. A quick dodge, and Itasuske had him. He quickly changed styles again, and blocked off most of Sasuke's chakra points before he knew what was going on.

"Not a bad move." Sasuke said, slumping over from not having much chakra to go off of. This was actually the closest battle Itasuske had been in. When he pulled back, Itasuske had a big slash across his cheek. "You as well, Sauske Uchiha. But I was the better of the two of us today." His eyes were neither Hyuuga or Uchiha, but a straight gold, even brighter than Nakita's golden eyes. He then deactivated both eyes and waited for the others to finish their battles.

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Orochimaru sighed. "Come, Nakita, do we have to do this?"

Nakita got her bow out. "If the result is that you will leave me alone with Itasuske, then yes." She drew a arrow and pointed it at her father's head. "Don't make me do this."

Orochimaru sniggered. "You couldn't even if I had that fool Itasuske in my hands, ending his pitiful existence." She loosed an arrow, which he dodged, but still caught him by surprise.

"I will if I have to." she said.

"Fine, you insolent woman," he pulled out his sword, "we will do it your way."

He lunged at her. She, being his daughter, easily saw the move and dodged out of the way. "Got you," he said. A pit of snakes opened up where she was about to land. Nakita thought quickly, and pulled out a paper bomb, threw it at the snakes, and had it explode just before she hit the ground. When the smoke cleared, she was a bit singed, but not too bad off. She leapt in the air and threw a vial of a poisonous gas that she had built up a immunity to. The smoke was thick enough to cover the entire area where the two were fighting, but that was where it stopped. Random coughs broke the silence, thus signifying to Nakita that her father had taken some in. Then Orochimaru's sword came blazing out of the fog, aiming at Nakita's gut. But she had a better plan for it. She quickly caught the sword, strung it in her bow, and shot it in the direction it had come.

A sharp "Gah!" pierced the silence when she shot the sword. Then a sharp wind blew all the smoke away, revealing Orochimaru with his own sword in his leg.

"Why do you resist?" Orochimaru asked.

"Because I fight for a person I love more than life itself!" Nakita exclaimed.

She split her bow into two short swords and started swinging them in calculated strikes. Orochimaru, devoid of a weapon, limped and was barely able to dodge most of the blows she was throwing, but not all of them. She made a few cuts along his torso and legs, never reaching for his face or arms. She had some respect for him, so she didn't want to do too much against him. "I will remind you again," She said while slowly whittling away at Orochimaru, "I have killed a Taken, and you have not even taken out a Atasuki. The difference in our abilities is plain and clear."

Orochimaru got up, did a little flare if his hands, and bowed to Nakita. "It seems that I taught you well. I willingly concede to defeat." He did a small bow. "Father," Nakita said, bowing as well. They both embraced, and Orochimaru disappeared.

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Noah was having a bit of trouble. He did not fully expect Soulcatcher to go all out. But it was her world, and it seemed as though she could bend it to her will. Rocks and walls seemed to split at her slightest touch, when she wanted them to. He couldn't get even two hits in, he was dodging so many things. Sure, his rotation worked for a bit, but he could not rotation everything. He spent most of his time dodging things, but a idea popped into his head. He got in plain sight, and saw a huge boulder thrown at him. He jumped, caught it, did a small rotation, and sent it back with twice it's original velocity. Catcher simply made the boulder burst by a touch of her finger.

She cackled, "You can't even touch me, foolish Hyuuga, and there is no Shifter to come save you!" She then stopped throwing boulders, and went after Noah. This was the chance he was waiting for. Revenge for almost taking Alexz's soul, payback for what she did while he was a shadow master, and most of all, for plummeting his beloved Inn and Dojo into this nightmare realm.

When she got close, he pulled her out of the air, and slammed her into the ground. She, in turn, grabbed him, and spun him around and threw him against the wall. His ring, which he thought was long dead, started making the same feeling in his hand.

"No, I must not fall back into darkness." Noah pulled off the ring and threw it at Soulcatcher.

She caught it, and a new effect started taking place inside the world. Catcher wasn't counting on having other Taken against her, but here was Shifter's ring, almost burning a hole in her hand. She let go of it, but the last dying act of Shifter had already taken place. The world returned to normal, no longer in Catcher's nightmare realm. She could almost hear Shifter's mocking laugh as the ring melted an made a hole in the floor.

While she was distracted, Noah got his chain sickle and hooked Catcher by the arm and reeled her in. He quickly made a few strikes to loosen her up, then went into a straight 128 palm strike, causing Catcher to fall to the ground, her Chakra almost completely depleted.

She got up slowly, and turned to face all four of them at once. She still stood, defiantly resolute in her purpose, and they were beat as well. None of them had any energy left to fight, but Catcher had one final plan. She started gathering in all of her chakra, creating a small vortex of darkness.

She then pointed it at Itasuske. "You will not fulfill your destiny!" She exclaimed. The vortex shot out a concentrated beam of darkness. Noah was a bit far to do a rotation and still leave Itasuske ok. Kaori didn't have enough chakra to create a light shield for him. Nakita was held down by her father. The beam almost hit Itasuske, who couldn't concentrate because of the gash in his cheek.

Then Twilight came in and did a very quick rotation. "What did I miss?" He said as the bolt hit the roof of the Dojo, making it cave in.

All of them got out, and Soulcatcher was about to escape, but Itasuske stood in her way. Nakita, free of her father, stood right next to him. Catcher still stood, but she was scared. The woman who killed her sister and the man behind the extermination of the Taken stood before her.

"So, what are you going to do to me?" Catcher said.

"We are going to have you meet your sister." Nakita said. She drew a arrow, and Itasuske got his kunai out. She shot the arrow into her head, and he drove the point home by burying his kunai into her heart.

"It is almost done, but before anything else happens, Nakita, will you marry me?" Itasuske asked, going on one knee and holding her hand. "I don't have anything to give you but my eternal love, protection, and.." he paused, "this." He presented a small ring made of his most precious item, his towel. Her eyes filled with tears, and she took his hand in hers. "I will."


	10. Wedding Day is Just the Beginning

Disclaimer: I'm not saying anything… Kemino belongs to my BFF Tyler.

Itasuske was feeling nervous. He could stare down the face of the most ugly of all horrors, but he was nervous about a simple wedding. He was mentally kicking himself in the head. Why was he so nervous? Was it that he was not sure of the outcome? That could not be it, because he knew that she loved him as much as he loved her. She had faced down her father for his sake.

So, as he put on a suit specially tailored to his height and shoulder length, he set himself up for success. Not only did he make himself as handsome as possible, but he also made it so that he would match his soon to be wife. His suit was a simple white shirt with black pants and his robe, unfastened so that they could see the shirt and pants.

He processed down with Twilight as his best man, Kakashi in the background, looking kind of foolish in a suit. The wedding was held on a field on top of a hill, overlooking all of Konoha. They were to have a quiet service, so they would not be interrupted. On his side, there was almost no one, since Noah was presiding the service. But not to be outdone by his rival, Guy was on his side, looking a little bit better in a suit than Kakashi. Tsunade was there, being relived from Naruto her duties. She was sitting on Nakita's side. How she had heard of this, Itasuske did not know. While Itasuske was admiring Noah's handiwork and the beautiful view, Nakita came.

If he looked good, she was stunning. Her long black hair let down, flowing in the warm breeze that caressed the hill. She also had a beautiful white dress, which accentuated her golden eyes and her unique figure. Then she came with her bridesmaids. Kaori was right behind her, and from what he could tell, she was helping Nakita's appearance by casting a faint golden glow around her. A friend of Nakita's that he didn't recognize was behind Kaori. Itasuske got a vague sense of déjà vu, but quickly got over it.

She possessed up the small walk, and turned to him. He could tell that this would be when she was the most nervous, the same as him. They both confirmed each other's emotions, took each other's hand, and turned to Noah. Noah smiled at the both of them. This day was long coming for him, but that just made it all the better. "Dearly beloved….." He began. He continued through the service, and as they went through it, a strange man came in on Itasuske's side. He wore a white cape, had a ring like a snake on his left hand, and looked a bit out of place. Itasuske didn't notice, his whole mind was on how he had gotten the finest woman he had ever met to marry him. It was almost too good to be true.

But once they got there, Itasuske himself pulled out a ring that truly symbolized their relationship. It was a ring made of a special forged metal that was said to be unbreakable. It was smooth all around, and had a golden interior, and a clear exterior. It was perfect because it showed that outward appearances had no hold over how the person was on the inside. Inset on the ring was a small diamond, only to show that the center is always pure, through hardships and tribulations.

Nakita, taken away from the beauty of the ring, almost kissed him on the spot. But she remembered herself and presented a ring to Itasuske. It was a kind of opaque on the outside, with streaks of red and black intermixing. Obviously, he thought, to show his abilities of both the Sharingan and Byakugan. But once he held it, it turned a golden color. Itasuske was also taken by this ring, and when they had both put on their rings, Noah closed the book he was reading from, and said, with a smile on his face, "You may kiss the Bride."

Itasuske turned to her, looked he in the face, and kissed her more passionately than the first time he kissed her. She, in turn, surprised him by giving the same back.

After the service was done, they all gathered together and had a small party on the same hill. All of the men congratulated Itasuske for his fine choice of a woman, and the same went for Nakita and the women. There was a little dancing and music. The party was actually very lively for only having a select amount of Ninja there. Itasuske, when they were cutting the cake, promptly smashed it in Nakita's face, who almost did the same to him, except with the whole cake. With the tossing of flowers, Nakita's friend, named Kemino, caught them. When Itasuske was throwing the garter, it landed on Kakashi's head while he was reading. Everyone had a good laugh at that.

After all the festivities were done, Itasuske went and stood on top of the hill. Nakita joined him, saying, "What are you thinking about?"

Itasuske looked at her, smiled, and said, "Us, the future, and tonight." She smiled a small smile to that last one, but fate had a different plan for the two lovers.

That same strange man came up to Itasuske. Nakita ran in front of the strange man, saying, "No, not yet Chronos. We still have time, right?"

Chronos sighed, looked with deep sadness in his eyes, and said, "I am afraid not. I must take Itasuske now, or else this union would not even be."

Itasuske went up to the man, leaned over to Nakita, and asked, "Who is this man?"

Chronos answered for Nakita, "I am what you will be. I am Chronos, master of time. You are Itasuske, and you have a great destiny about you."

Itasuske turned to Nakita, and asked, "What does he mean? Am I going somewhere?"

Nakita sighed, turned her head, and said, "You are to lead a group of ninja, including myself, against people like Soulcatcher. It is to stop a war that was on the horizon, before we stopped it." She was close crying. It was not fair, she thought. She wanted at least one night.

Itasuske looked pensive, "What if I don't go?"

Chronos lost his sadness look, and held up an hourglass, "Then this will happen." The sand in the hourglass turned clear, and Itasuske saw visions of his closest friends being tortured and cut down in front of his face. Then he saw the scariest vision he would never forget. It was Noah, but he was in all black, and the ring on his hand had taken him over.

After the visions stopped, Itasuske accepted his fate. "I will take the job."

Chronos offered the hourglass to Itasuske, who took hold of it. Immediately, Itasuske noticed a difference. He felt like he knew everything that had happened and that would happen. Chronos left, and Nakita was alone with him.

"I guess you should go," she said.

"Yeah, I guess I should," he agreed. He was just phasing out of time, when Nakita hit him on the head. "I told you to never kiss me in pub-" the rest was cut off because he was totally out of phase. He started traveling to the past, to the point he knew where to go.


	11. Waiting For You

Disclamer: HA I own this!!! Yes I wrote this chapter and it's not all that bad, if I do say so myself. The OCs still belong to their rightful creators.

Oh, and this is in Nakita's point of view.

The cool night's air blew itself into the room. Her black hair twist and twirled in its currents. Nakita was sitting on her bed and stared off in the night. She's been doing this ever since he left. Of course she knew he would be all right and return to her, but it was so hard wait. He left for his duty not long after their wedding. How long has it been? Nakita didn't know. The days dragged on and on everyday, so she lost track of what day it was or anything.

Nakita rubbed her eyes. She hasn't slept a good night's sleep in a while. Every time she tried, her head filled of what was happening to him. The young snake would then sit on the bed and waited until she fell asleep; she was doing that now. Who knew what time it was? The moon has long past been high and the stars weren't as bright. Nakita sighed and laid down in her empty bed and waited for sleep to come over her.

The next morning, Nakita awoke at dawn, as always. She then got herself ready for the day. As she took out her Hostess outfit, she remember the reason why she had this job. It was because she told him that he needed new cloths and they needed money. Both of them really didn't like their jobs but they needed it. Free shelters and warm meals, Nakita was fine with it. Now Nakita didn't feel like seeing any people at all.

Nakita walked down the hallway, in her normal attire, and stopped at Noah's door. She was about to knock on the door, but she heard Noah's voice say, "Come in, Nakita." She smirked to herself thinking, 'Typical Byukagan vision.'

"Are you not working today?" Noah asked as she walked into the room.

"Yeah," Nakita said, "I just don't feel like it today."

"That's understandable, you are free to go." Noah walked past Nakita to head downstairs.

"That was painless," Nakita said to herself. Instead of taking the front exit like normal people, Nakita jumped out of Noah's window. She landed and sped off in a random direction.

Nakita hasn't done this in a long time. It made her feel like she was sneaking out of the Sound Village. She would try so hard just not to get caught by Kabuto or her father. 'I wonder how Dad's doing,' Nakita thought, 'I haven't heard anything about him for a while. Maybe I should… nah; he'll just try something to get me to stay. I'll just listen out for rumors then'

11111

It was the middle of the day and she was walking through the town. The last time she was here was when she and the others were fighting Soulcatcher. Unlike last time, though, she was here to tell some bad news. 'This isn't fair for her,' Kaori thought to herself, bitterly. She was her first friend and Kaori shouldn't be the one to tell her this, but it would be worst to find out on her own.

As she approached the inn, Kaori clenched her fists. She opened the door and saw Noah where Nakita should have been.

"Kaori!" Twilight called out from his place behind the bar. He jumped over the counter and trapped Kaori in a bear hug.

"It's good to see you too, Twilight," she said, "Now, uhh, I kinda need to breath!" Twilight let go of her while muttering a apology.

"What brings you here, Kaori?" Noah asked, walking toward the two.

Kaori's smile fell from her face. "I… I need to speak with Nakita about something." Twilight and Noah looked at each other.

"So the rumor's true then, is it?" Noah asked. Kaori looked up at the Hyuuga with a questioning look. "I overheard some customers talk about it," he said.

Twilight nodded, "So have I."

"And you haven't told her yet?!" Kaori asked, anger rising.

"Calm down, Kaori," Twilight said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "We only heard today. And Nakita isn't working today."

"Well then, is she in her room?"

Twilight shrugged, "I don't think so. Who knows where she is."

Kaori sat on a nearby stool and massaged her head. Oh this wasn't good. Kaori was hoping that she would tell Nakita so she wouldn't go on a rampage. She didn't want to tell her, but it'll be better if Nakita heard it from her. At least Kemino was nearby. Hopefully they'll run into each other.

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"Kami, I'm so anti-social," Nakita laughed at herself. She hasn't seen one person or went in one town, all because of her pissy mood. She sighed and stared up at the sky. One thing she really missed was training him. Every day after work she would take him out. He called it torture while she called it training. Who could blame her, though? She had harsh training herself when she was younger and still lived with her father. Sure it wasn't as harsh as she made it, but still, it made her into who she was today. The training was to prepare him for his task. Some might say that was the only reason why she trained him, but to her it was something to do with him, spend time with him, while having fun.

Nakita closed her eyes and saw his face. The usual Uchiha build and hair. His left black eye and right gray one fill with determination and joy. She loved the way he looked at her. They accepted each other for who they were and not what. It was funny. She was Nakita, Snakebane, the daughter of the Snake Sanin, Orochimaru, while he was Orochimaru's experiment.

Technically, they first met when she was 15 and he was 21. In reality, though, they met when they were either 18 or 19. She smiled as she remembered the look on his face when she said "hi" to him. He looked like he saw a ghost or something.

When she first met him, she almost hated him because he acted like he knew everything about her, but during their travel he told her about his past. After he returned to his time, she decided to try and help him have a better one. So instead of returning to the Sound Village like she said she would, Nakita stayed in the wild and looked everywhere for him.

"Why did you have to be so strong?" Nakita asked, hoping to hear a mental answer from him. She heard nothing. Nakita continued walking along, letting the small breeze calm her down, somewhat.

"Having an Emo moment?" a female voice asked. Nakita turned to her right and saw the blue-haired Sand Ninja.

Nakita laughed and said, "Pretty much. So what brings you here, Kemino?"

"Have you spoken to Kaori, lately?" Kemino asked.

Nakita shook her head, "Not since the wedding."

Kemino sighed and whispered to herself, "I just have to be the bringer of bad news, don't I?"

"What bad news?" Nakita asked. Was it something about him?

"Well, uhh," Kemino said, "well you see, oh Kami." Nakita mentally smiled at Kemino. Sure she was emotionless most of the time, but Kemino knew when she had to show emotions. This was one of those rare moments. "Now, Nakita, don't go rampaging when I tell you this, but Orochimaru is dead."

It felt like her heart stopped. Nakita stopped in her tracks and just stared at Kemino. "H-He died?" she whispered.

Kemino sadly nodded. "I was sent to spy on the village because we haven't heard anything about the Sound. On my way I met up with Kaori and together we saw the village in pieces. It was torched to the ground. We looked for survivors, but we only saw dead bodies. Among them was Orochimaru. Nakita, I'm so sorry."

Nakita stood there, unmoving, for a moment. Then she did a handsign and used the Sound Speed Jutsu and went to the Sound village.

"Nakita!" she heard Kemino's fainted shout.

Nakita held on to her consciousness when she arrived at her old home. No, not old, it would always be her home. She was raised and trained here. Kemino was right; it was burnt to the ground. 'Who did this?' Nakita thought, hate building. She walked through the empty streets looking for any sign of life. Nakita searched every building, under every piece of furniture, inside every case. Nothing turned up.

Fear was running everywhere in Nakita. When she approached the mansion, her home, the fear increased. She gulped and proceeded on.

"Dad?" she called out in the empty, familiar halls. "Kabuto? Anyone here?" Nakita repeated what she did outside in here. She felt like she was playing Hide-an'-Seek, only she was looking for a dead body. 'No! There's no way… He couldn't be killed!' Nakita cried mentally to herself.

Nakita sighed, annoyed that she couldn't find ANYTHING. "Next is upstairs," she whispered to herself. "Our rooms."

His room just had to be the first one. She clenched her teeth as she entered her father's room. To her surprise and relief, Orochimaru wasn't in here. 'But then where would he be?'

Next, Nakita checked out Kabuto's room. No dice there either, but she did find his stash of poisons and managed to take all of them. She didn't let fear stop her when she approached her room. After all, why would he be in here?

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Kemino growled to herself when Nakita sped off. 'Good thing I know where she's going.' Kemino smirked, 'But I can't image how she feels right now. Her newly husband left for his mission in the past and she just learned that her father died. She has no one to talk to, since knowing her, she won't say anything to the others.'

She sighed and decided to go meet up with Nakita at the Sound Village. Kemino walked and took her time, knowing that it'll take Nakita awhile to search the ruin village.

'_Why don't you speed up?' _an irritated hiss asked.

'_Because I don't want too,'_ Kemino replied. The hiss muttered a curse and stayed silent for the reminder of the trip.

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"WHAT THE HELL?!" Nakita shouted as she stepped into her room. This was not how she left it 3 years ago. Blood was everywhere and everything that was once standing now lay on the floor. She went over to some bloodstains and kneeled down to look at them. "They're not that old…" she whispered to herself, "but the question is whose it is. This calls for an old friend."

Nakita bit her thumb and did a few handsigns and summoned a fair-sized snake. The snake had an irritated look on and growled, "Listen, buddy, I don't…" His voice trailed off as he saw Nakita giving him a smirk.

"How have you been, Nutmuncher?" Nakita asked.

"N-Nakita!" Nutmuncher cried out in disbelief. "Where have you been?!"

"Wondering around, working for Noah at the inn, got married," Nakita said, "My life in a nutshell."

Nutmuncher hissed a mutter, "Your father isn't going to be happy about that."

"That's why I need you," she said, holding the snake's head to look at her in the eyes, "Listen, someone has burnt the village and, as you can see, there's been a battle in my room. I need you to try and get the scent of the blood."

"When we see each other after 3 years, the first thing you do is put me to work," Nutmuncher grumbled. Nakita rolled her eyes as he started his order.

As he was doing that, Nakita picked up her room, somewhat. She growled as she saw that whoever was in here stole one of her katanas. 'Bastards…' She didn't really find any sort of clues from doing that. Sighing, Nakita went to her closet and dug in there. "Dammit, nothing."

Grumbling many curses, Nakita sat on her bed. She closed her eyes and tried to think. 'OK, Nakita, think. Whose 'Must Die' list is Dad on… The Leaf village, of course… Sand, possible… Itachi's? Wait a sec… Uchiha's have too much pride for their own good…' The snake ninja clenched her fists as Nutmuncher slithered over.

"I believe that the blood belongs to Karin," he stated, "The girl that was teamed up with that Uchiha kid."

Nakita nodded, holding her anger in. "Thanks. Now c'mon, we need to continue looking."

"For what exactly?" Nutmuncher asked, slithering up Nakita's leg to her shoulder.

As she stood up she explained, "I met up with Kemino and she told me that Dad died. I came here see if it was true." Neither of the two spoke as Nakita walked to her father's room.

"Now let's see," Nakita whispered to herself, "It's around here somewhere." She was standing in front of one of the many desks in Orochimaru's room. She pushed it aside to revel a trapdoor. Without wasting a second, she opened the door and jumped down.

If her room was a mess, then this place was a pig peen when an explosive note was used. Glass beakers and chambers were broken everywhere. Furniture was upturned and blood was everywhere, more than her room. Nakita landed on the cold ground and waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The air was damp and cold; not very pleasant smelling, either.

"Dad?" Nakita called out, her voice almost shaking. Her gut was telling her that what Kemino told her was true as she walked around the lab. Nutmuncher had left her person to look in the smaller places for anything. "Dad, it's me, Nakita!"

She gulped as fear made her body tremble. Not once in her life has she been this scared. This was too much. Nakita didn't even know that fear like this existed.

"Nakita?" Nutmuncher's voice called from somewhere in the dark. Nakita jumped at the sound of his voice, kunai at the ready.

Reminding herself that it was only him, she called back, "What?"

"You may want to come see this."

The same questions ran through her head as Nakita walked toward Nutmuncher's voice. What was it? What it her father? Avoiding many sharp objects, she made it to her long-time partner. Every thing stopped for her then.

She could only hear the sound of her heart beating quickly and her own breath. In front of her was her father, Orochimaru, in a puddle of blood. He looked as if he was having a nightmare in his sleep, his face in pain. His sword lay near him with bloodstains on it. You couldn't even tell the color of his shirt from the amount of blood on it. His arms and legs looked like he'd just trip and landed a face-plant.

"Nakita?" the small snake asked his mistress. Nakita stayed still and silent. This couldn't be true. There was no way her father could died in battle, he was a Sanin! Also a ninja genius, knowing almost every jutsu! Also he had Kabuto to help, along with other loyal servants… didn't he?

She fell to her knees, landing in some of the dried up blood. Her eyes never left her father's body. She could feel her whole body shaking, head to toe. "N-no," she breathed out.

Nakita stayed like that for a good 10 minutes before Nutmuncher slithered up to her shoulder and hissed in her ear, "C'mon, Nakita, you can't stay there like that forever. What about the others?" The young snake ninja nodded and stood up. She walked over to her father's body and picked it up, much like one would do to an injured comrade.

She felt Nutmuncher's confused stare and said, "I'm doing to right thing." As she touched the body, Nakita thought it was ice. It was cold from the lack of warm blood running through it as well as being underground.

'You asshole,' she thought bitterly to herself as she carried the body out of the mansion and the village, 'you go and get yourself killed after all that talk about never dieing.'

11111

What was it like, someone killing your father and you found out about it a few days later, after most people already knew about it? She knew what it was like to kill your own father at a very young age, but she felt nothing when she did it. When she was little, the emotion she showed was when she was playing with other children, mostly Gaara. No one liked him and that made her more curious then she already was.

"Why am I thinking about this?" Kemino asked herself as she neared the remains of the Sound Village. With her hands in her pockets on her black dress, she walked. Up ahead she saw Nakita's outline.

"Nakita there you…" he voice trailed off as she saw her carrying Orochimaru's lifeless body. As Nakita walked pasted her, Kemino turned on her heel and followed behind her, "Why are you carrying that?"

Nakita ignored the Sand ninja as she walked on. Nutmuncher slithered out of her pocket and slithered up to Kemino's shoulder. He might as well fill the girl in, seeing that his mistress wasn't going to talk to anyone anytime soon.

"She said she's doing the right thing," he hissed.

Kemino looked at him with her green eyes. "The right thing?" she asked.

Nutmuncher gave a movement that indicated a shrug, "I'm as clueless as you are on what 'the right thing' is."

Nakita growled to herself as she heard the other two talk about her. And she thought she had no idea of honor.

"I'm showing respect for the dead," she snarled out. She heard Kemino's footsteps stop for a brief moment before running up to her.

"You mean a proper burial?" the blue-haired ninja asked. Nakita nodded, her eyes never leaving the road in front of her.

After walking for what seemed like forever, the trio stopped. Nakita glanced around the area and set her father's body against a tree. Kemino stood a good distance away, so that she wouldn't disturb the snake ninja. She smiled to herself as she saw the area. 'Not so far away from town, but far enough for no one to find,' she thought as she watched Nakita digging with nothing but her hands.

"We're going to be here a while," she whispered as she stand down.

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At first, it was great having a few hours catching up with Noah and Twilight while waiting for Nakita to come back. But now the sun was setting in the distance and the sky was orange. Kaori turned from the window to Twilight.

"Where could she be?" she asked, mostly to herself.

"Who knows," Twilight said, cleaning a glass, "She's just like her parents and husband, unpredictable." Kaori sighed, turning back to the window.

Once the last of the customers left and both Noah and Twilight were cleaning up, Kaori said, "I'm going to look for her."

"I'm sure she's fine," Noah said, "Nakita's always fine."

"Your Byukagan can't see everything," Kaori muttered to herself. "I want to go see for myself, just to make sure," she said, loud enough for both boys to hear. Before either of them could protest, she walked out of the inn.

When she reached the outskirts of the village, Kaori focused on Kemino's chakra. It'll be best if she checked with her first. After a few seconds, she found it and, with her black hair turning blond, used her Sunlight Transportation. Her sight went black for a second before the scene changed. 'Where's Kemino?' she asked herself as she only saw a tree in front of her.

"She's over there," a voice below her said. Kaori glanced down and saw Kemino with her hands behind her head, leaning against the tree. Her eyes were closed and she was pointing in front of her. On her should was Nakita's summoning, Nutmuncher, curled up sleeping.

Kaori turned around and saw Nakita kneeling on the ground. As she approached her, Kaori saw that she was in front of some sort of grave. The ground was recently dug up and Nakita was covered in sweat and dirt. Acting as a headstone, there was a piece of wood carved into the shape of a snake. Kneeling down, Kaori place a hand on her friend's shoulder. Nakita remained unmoving, she just continued staring at the grave.

"Once I return the Leaf village, I'll be sure the ask Lady Hokage to investigate," she said, trying to get some sort of response out of the girl, "I'm sure she'd be as curious as we all are about the cause."

"Do what you want," Nakita said, her voice full of venom. Her tone reminded Kaori greatly of the Snake Sanin.

"C'mon Nakita, let's go back to the inn so the boys know you're ok." Kaori said. Nakita gave a nod, stood up, and started to head back to the village.

"She's been like that since we met up," Kemino said, popping up behind Kaori, "after she ran off and found him."

Kaori sighed and stood up. "Shall we?" she asked, turning to follow Nakita.

"Got nothing else to do," Kemino shrugged, "I already told Gaara the news." Kaori nodded and they both headed back to the inn.

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Noah had given Nakita the rest of the week off. She spent her days in other villages looking for information on the youngest Uchiha. She mostly stayed quiet and just listened out. Once in a while she'll speak, once she heard his name. So far his whereabouts are unknown, but close the area.

On the 3rd day of searching, Nakita stopped by her father's grave before returning to the inn. She had found some flowers and placed them on the grave. Then she sat down and just stared at the headstone she craved. It was supposed to portray Manda, the giant snake summoning. From what Nakita heard about him from Kabuto and her father, the snake wasn't very keen on orders, purple with black strips, had horns, and you didn't want to have him as an opponent. She thought she did a good job with a katana and a vision of his image.

Thoughts were just cramped together in her head. Nakita didn't know what she was thinking or when she thought of this. Mostly she was thinking of how to find Uchiha. Even at the very thought of him, hate built inside her breast.

"Of all the times you called me a fool," she said to the grave as if speaking with her father, "when it was really you."

Thunder boomed from the sky as Nakita sensed someone's chakra approaching… No more than one. Rain began to fall from above as she turned to the direction of the chakra. Who else to step out, but the very boy on her mind. His black hair had the usual Uchiha bangs and it was in a style that reminds one of a chicken's butt. His clothing was much like Orochimaru's; only his shirt was opened, reveling his well-muscled chest.

"Speak of the devil," Nakita muttered to herself. She stood up and glared at the Uchiha.

His onyx eyes showed slight amusement as he said, "Now what do we have here? A girl morning over the death of her father?" Nakita growled as his team step out behind him.

"You were right, Sasuke," the one with white hair and shark-like teeth said, "She looks just like him."

"Meaning she's probably just as weak," the girl with red hair and glasses said. The third member, a young man with brown hair, reminded silent.

"Suigetsu, Karin, Jugo, and their sissy leader, Sasuke Uchiha," " Nakita said, looking over each one, "As I remember correctly, you were all just pawns."

Suigetsu laughed, his sharp teeth gleaming in the lighting flash.

"Yes we were just pawns," Karin said, adjusting her glasses, "but we were enough to kill Orochimaru.

"Yeah, you guys distracted him while Sasuke stood by and waited for him to fatigue," Nakita smirked. All four ninja glared at her. "So what brings you urchins here?"

"Urchins?" Suigetsu snarled, his hand reaching for his sword. Sasuke put his hand up to stop him.

"We were just merely passing by," the Uchiha said, "but I was wondering, is that experiment around?" His team snickered. Apparently, her relationship wasn't on the low profile she wanted it to be on.

"He has a name," Nakita growled to herself. To Sasuke she said, "Why, so he can kick your ass again?"

Sasuke glared at her, his eyes turning to the Sharigan red.

"It seems you have forgotten as to why your father treasured me greatly," he said.

"And let's not forget that you weren't the only one Father trained," Nakita smirked, "And I trained the man that can beat you with one hand." With a boom a thunder and a flash of lighting, the four ninjas charged at Nakita.

111111

Sweat or was it rain? ran down her brow as Nakita hid behind a tree, regaining her breath.

"Damn" she hissed to herself as she felt her chakra level lowering, trying to find Sasuke's mind, just to pinpoint his position. She had her bow out, ready to shoot at any moment. Her long black hair was sticking to every inch of her bare skin. Nakita glanced around the tree, looking for any sign of the Sharigan user. She had killed his teammates long ago. How long have they been at it? Maybe 30 minutes? Seeing nothing, she let out a sigh and waited for her other senses to respond. All of them had blanks.

Biting her lip, Nakita fully turned around the tree to get a better view. Almost at once, she picked up Sasuke's chakra and barely dodged his attack. Jumping back, Nakita shot three arrows in his directions. He easily swiped two of them to the sides, but with the third one he hit back at her. Not expecting this, she quickly leaped into the air. While airborne, Nakita shot her tongue out and grabbed Sasuke by the neck. Smirking, Sasuke took out kunai and threw them at her. Having no choice, she let go of him in order to deflect the knives. Landing on the muddy ground, Nakita swiftly changed her bow to its double swords and held them out to block Sasuke's katana.

"How long can you keep this up," he asked mockingly.

"As long as it takes," Nakita snarled, pushing with her swords, causing Sasuke to lose his balance for a moment. She only needed a moment. As soon as her blades slid off his, the young snake stabbed the young Uchiha in the chest with them, one in his heart and one in his windpipe.

A sense of relief came over Nakita and she relaxed her body. Biggest mistake of her life. As she did, she heard a "poof;" Sasuke's body just turned into a log.

"Dammit," she hissed as she turned her head. Her face came in contact with a forceful punch that sent her flying. Nakita flew over the whole clearing it seemed before hitting a tree with her back. Landing in mud, she refused to left herself up. She was far to tired and there was no way for her to continue. 'Cheaters,' she thought to herself, smirking, '4 against 1.'

'_Since when has life been fair?'_ she heard the white haired Sound medic ask. Nakita chuckled in the mud, she's hallucinating now. _'And are you actually giving up? Who are you and what have you done with Nakita?'_ Kabuto's voice joked.

'_Don't give me your shit,'_ Nakita replied to the voice.

'_Fine. But at least be the same Nakita, even at death's door.'_

'_Death is actually an old friend of mine.'_

'_You know what I mean. Don't be a coward.'_

'_I'm not, I was just taking my time talking to you before getting up.'_ Nakita felt the voice smile before it was no longer there.

Nakita slightly left her head up. As she did she heard the faint noise of birds chirping. That could only mean one thing. Sitting herself against the tree, Nakita stared at a charging Sasuke with Chidori on his sword. 'Ah c'mon! Doesn't water conduct electricity?'

"NAKITA!" a voice called out from somewhere. Nakita smiled to herself, thinking she was just hallucinating again.

"Itasuske," she whispered out, "I'm sorry." With that said, Nakita closed her eyes and, for the first time in her life, a tear rolled down her face as she awaited Death to come for her.

Mwhahahahahaha!!! I wrote a cliffy!!! What's going to happen to our beloved Snakebane?

CHGN: Nakita, what are you doing on the computer?

Nakita: Nothing! ;-p


	12. Together Again

A tree rustled nearby. He stood on that tree, recognizing it as the first place he had gotten in touch with his darker side. Those days were long gone, he realized. He was looking for her, for he had much to tell and much more to see. It had been ages to him since he was back in his own time line. He leaped from tree to tree, keeping his face underneath the mask he had just acquired. His long black cloak flowing in the breeze He tried to lock on to her chakra signature, but it was either depleted or too far away for him to detect. That was when he thought to himself that she was probably in trouble, and to follow where his gut told him to go. He quickly picked up his pace, easily going triple his beginning speed.

He kept searching, and seeing the clouds that were following, he knew he didn't have much time until he had to turn in. It was imperative that he found her, though, and a little rain never hurt anyone. He kept leaping tree to tree. He then caught a faint whiff of a familiar chakra signature. He dropped from the treetops, and landed right in front of Kaori. Caught WAY off guard, Kaori immediately went into he battle stance. Itasuske stood there, his mask on. Seeing that this man was not going to attack her, she relaxed. This man seemed familiar, but his mask threw her off. "Hello, my name is Kaori, leaf village….." she trailed off. She noticed the white rose on the back of the man's cloak. "Itasuske! Where have you been? Don't answer that, I already know." He put his hand in the air, asking for silence. "Where is Nakita?" he said, as soft as possible. "I don't know," she said, "Ever since her father died, no one has had any contact with her." Itasuske turned to meet her face to mask. "Orochimaru's dead? Is it that time already? I think I know where she will be in the near future then." Kaori put a hand on his shoulder. She knew that he was Chronos as well as Itasuske, but she wanted to know something. "What is with the mask?" His mask was a human face, but it had neither nose holes or a mouth opening. "I have many reasons for my mask, but I don't have time to explain right now." Itasuske brushed off Kaori's hand. "Now, if you will excuse me," He bolted away, matching speeds of Rock Lee with no weights. Raindrops started to fall.

Even at this speed, he could be too late. He could not lock on to Nakita's chakra signature either. Understandable, he considered. She was fighting off team Sauske right about now. She probably had taken out about two out of four right now. He was going as fast as he could, he dared not use his time travel, for he could over shoot or under shoot and be too late or too early. He continued moving at the speed he was, his body screaming at him to slow down. The rain was becoming heavier. He knew the harder the rain fell, the more tired Nakita would be. He just hoped that he could get there before that punk tried to kill her, just like he killed her father.

He knew that she was really close. The evidence of battle became more prevalent the closer he got. Plus the rain was coming down in buckets now. Through the rain and trees, he saw bodies strewn about. He counted three, none of them belonging to either Sauske or Nakita. He also noticed that each of the downed ninja had an arrow sticking out of them. "Good job, Nakita," he said to himself. He kept traveling along the path of destruction, then came to a sudden stop. He heard birds chirping nearby, and then looked as a bolt of lightning flashed. He saw Nakita standing in the mud, looking a bit dazed. He also saw Sauske rushing toward her, about five yards away. "NAKITA!!!!!" he yelled, and immediately kicked himself mentally. His call would distract her. Then he noticed that Sauske was almost at his target. He immediately thought of something.

Nakita, after hearing her lover's voice, was ready for death. She spread her arms wide, and a small tear rolled down her cheek. Sauske was right within striking distance, about to land the final blow. Fate is always fickle, but this time it worked in her favor. Right as she expected to be hit in the chest, the Chidori stopped. She opened her eyes, and saw a man in a black cloak and a mask holding Sasuke's arm. The man then threw the Ninja hard against the nearest tree. Sauske, recovering for the moment, gave Nakita a short time to ask, with a hostile air, "Who are you?" to the stranger. "A friend, helping you with this," he pointed to Sauske. She made a sideways glance at the new stranger, then caught a faint hint of white on his cloak. Itasuske! He had come back! He took off his mask, facing Sauske as he did so. "You remember me?" he asked. Sauske looked at the man, who looked sooooo much like his brother, but then he saw the faintest of gray in one eye. "I see that the experiment returns. So, come back from hiding, then?" Itasuske closed his eyes. "Don't you realize that I am now way older?" Sauske looked him over, and did notice that Itasuske had grown quite a bit since they met last. "And," Itasuske continued, " I have something new." He pulled out a jet-black scythe. Sauske saw the new blade, and almost ran then and there. This bade was at least two times better than his katana. His Sharingan activated, he also saw that the scythe gave off it's own chakra signature, as if something was inside there. Sauske steadied himself, and pulled out his katana. "Let's go, enough talk!" Itasuske got himself ready, "As you will," was all he said.

Sauske came in with a few quick strikes that Itasuske quickly parried and knocked Sauske back. Sauske could not believe Itasuske's new speed. It was so fast. His last fight with Itasuske was bad for him. He had gotten royally defeated the last time they had fought. This time would be different, he claimed to himself. He unleashed his curse mark, making it go all the way to stage 2. "Now, witness my TRUE power!" He came rushing at Itasuske again. Itasuske activated his Sharingan to level three. He quickly dodged and struck Sauske in the back with a open palm. Itasuske then activated his Byakugan. Before he could land another blow, Sauske was up in the air, charging a Chidori. Itasuske wondered to himself, then his Sharingan activated to Magekyo stage. "100 point seal!" Sauske writhed in mid-air, having his 100 most important chakra points sealed by Itasuske's Magekyo Sharingan. Itasuske's eyes deactivated, and Sauske fell from the air, his chakra and Chidori almost down to nothing. "He will live. So," he turned to Nakita, "Want to find a place to stay?"

They both traveled in the pouring rain, until they came across a old shed. They both got in, and started trying to make themselves dry. Itasuske handed Nakita his towel, surprisingly dry. "How did you…..never mind." Nakita said. She didn't want to know why the towel was dry. Itasuske looked in the fireplace, and saw that some wood was still in it. He did a small fire jutsu, and the fireplace lit up with life. He hung his cloak by the fireplace, just close enough to have it dry off. "So, what is with the mask?" Nakita noticed it lying on the floor. "On my travels through time," he said, "I have encountered many cultures that have never even seen a humanoid face. This was for the sake of those people." "Wow," Nakita said, "So you went to a lot more places than just our past, then?" Itasuske nodded. Nakita then caught a glimpse of the young Itasuske she had married, went up to him, and laid her head on his shoulder. "Did you miss me along your travels?" She asked. "Yes, tremendously," he replied. He turned his face to hers. "You know," he said, "what I missed the most?" Nakita shot him a quizzical look, then took the bait. "What?" Itasuske smiled. "There was never a dull moment when I was with you." Nakita then went towards the other room. "Just wait, we still haven't had our honeymoon yet." She beckoned him to follow. They both had a spectacular night's sleep.


End file.
